What Brothers Do
by readersdigest
Summary: A crossover xover between Supernatural pre-season one and The Hardy Boys. No knowledge of Hardy Boys needed. Dean, Sam, Frank, Joe, John, Bobby, Fenton.friendship family hurt comfort hurt dean sam teen winchesters solo lil bit o angst fun fluff- everythin
1. Chapter 1

Authors Note: Well well, like the summary said, you don't need to know the Hardy Boys to enjoy the story

WHAT BROTHERS DO

A Hardy Boys/Supernatural Crossover

By _marasmorgue_

CHAPTER ONE

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

"Joe"

"Joe!" Frank Hardy called again, his tone a mix of exasperation and concern.

Why did his little brother always seem to get lost? And find trouble along the way, too.

He kept walking briskly through the woods surrounding the old warehouse. It was located in an out-of-the-way place, no buildings close by; a prime selection for criminal activity, which is what the brothers had gone to investigate.

Their father, Fenton Hardy, was investigating a local crime racket and the boys were helping him out by scouting locations as possibilities.

As Frank's mind wandered to the case and his brother's ability to find trouble, he almost tripped over a prone form lying on the forest floor.

"Damn" he cursed, mentally berating himself for a moment for being off-guard. He succeeded in catching himself before he toppled onto the prostrate figure.

He knelt down, noting the brown mop of hair, and the fact that it was a boy, maybe a little younger than Joe, by the look of him as he turned the boy onto his back, straightening him out. He also had one nasty gash on his forehead, the blood still trickling lightly down his face, meeting his flannel over-shirt and the grey tee he had on underneath.

As Frank checked the boy over he groaned quietly, hand reaching for his forehead.

"Easy kiddo" Frank murmured, catching the hand before it reached the gash, "looks like you hit your head. Can you open your eyes for me?" he asked the boy, watching as he struggled, eyelids fluttering.

Concussion? He thought.

Soulful brown eyes, marred by confusion and pain met Frank's own dark orbs.

"Wher-" the boy tried, then cleared his throat, "Where's Dean?" he asked in a slightly small voice, still confused.

"Dean?" Frank reiterated, wondering who the boy was talking about.

"My, my brother" the boy managed.

Oh. Now Frank got it.

"Older or younger?" Frank asked, trying to assess if the boy was ok to move.

"Big brother" the boy answered.

"So what's your name?" Frank asked, noticing the boy still seemed a bit out of it.

"S-Samm" the boy managed to get out. At least he wasn't too off.

"Well, Sam, I'm Frank. Think you can make it up?" he asked gently.

"Mmmm. Head hurts" Sam mumbled.

"I know kiddo. Come on, let's blow this joint, huh? We'll go see if we can find that brother of yours, okay?" Frank said cheerfully, assisting the boy in getting upright.

Leaning heavily on Frank, Sam seemed okay once he was up, and though his head was obviously causing him some pain, after a while he became more coherent. Frank asked more questions, trying to figure out how the kid ended up unconscious on the forest floor way out here.

"So, mind telling me how you ended up with that slice on your head, taking a nap on the ground back there?" Frank asked congenially.

"Not sure" Sam confessed.

"Huh. So, what are you doing out here?" Frank asked, hoping he'd have more luck.

"My brother and I were checking out that warehouse" Sam answered, and Frank noticed he didn't say why they were checking it out. Could he be connected to the crime ring maybe?

Frank didn't think so; could they be homeless then? The clothes Sam was wearing were a little worn, but so were the ones he himself was wearing; it didn't make sense to wear better clothes out here.

Frank was about to ask why he and his brother were checking the warehouse out but just then they came to the edge of the trees and Sam called out.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

MEANWHILE

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

"Damnit Sam, where are you? I told you not to go in the warehouse. I swear if I find you in there taking a break in the shade I'll kick your ass til Sunday" Dean Winchester muttered to himself, masking the worry he felt when his brother had failed to answer him.

Sighing, Dean stealthily made his way into the warehouse, scanning with precision the area, noting exits, possible weapons and potential threats with practiced ease.

Suddenly he became aware of voices, two adults, clearly men and one younger, a boy.

Cautiously, Dean advances to a position where he can see the people the voices belong to. What he sees makes him furious. Two men have a boy, roughly the Same age as Sam, maybe a little older, tied to a chair. The men are slapping him, demanding to know what he's doing here, among other questions.

Dean looks around; he had his gun but he'd prefer not to use it; it's only loaded with rock salt an while it would provide enough pain to stop the men following for a while he'd still need time to untie the boy, and he didn't know if he'd be capable of running or not. There; a piece of wood, nice size, weighty enough. It'll do.

And with that thought, he casually walked up to the two men, wood in hand.

"Hey fellas, this a private party or can anyone join in?" Dean asked flippantly.

"What the hell?" The nearest of the men growled, lunging at him.

"That's what I thought" Dean quipped out, clipping the man on the temple with the wood, effectively knocking him out for the count.

The other was not so stupid; he advanced slowly; trying to get within reach.

Dean dropped the piece of wood and promptly tackled the second man, fists flying, pummelling the man.

Finally he lay there stunned and Dean hopped up; striding to the boy tied to the chair that'd been watching the whole time; albeit through a black eye.

"Thanks" the boy said as he massaged his raw wrists from the rope that had secured him to the chair after Dean released him.

"We gotta get outta here fast; that guy isn't gonna be down for too long. Can you run?" Dean asked, channelling his father's military demeanour and brooking no refusals.

"Yes sir" the youth quipped, "My name's Joe Hardy by the way, what's yours?" he asked as he trotted alongside Dean.

"Dean Winchester" the older man responded, eyes constantly scanning the area.

"Well Dean, not that I'm not grateful for you coming and getting me out of there; I am but do you mind if I ask you why you're here?" Joe asked.

"Yes, I do" Dean replied. "Have you seen a kid "bout your age, brown hair?" Dean asked suddenly as they made their way out.

"Can't say I have, but I've been a little occupied, why?" Joe said curiously.

"He's my little brother; lost contact with him a while back. He should be here." Dean said, worry edging into his tone.

They walk out of the warehouse, and are maybe ten or fifteen meters away when they hear a voice calling Dean's name, another joining in and calling Joe's.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

"Dean" Sam suddenly calls out, seeing the two young men walk out of the warehouse and into the fading sunlight.

"Joe!" Frank joins in, recognizing his brother.

The two make their way towards their respective brothers; Dean checking Sam over and Frank doing the Same for Joe.

"How is it you always get tied to a chair?" Frank asks Joe, relief warring with exasperation for his brother in his voice.

"Dunno, big brother, just lucky I guess" Joe says happily.

At that Frank shakes his head.

"Sammy" Dean says, relief evident in his voice. "You okay?" he asks, big-brother mode in full force at the sight of his little brother's bloodied and pale face.

"M'ok Dean" Sam says quietly, his head pounding.

"Sure you are kiddo, sure you are" Dean says, happy to have his brother at his side. Turning to Frank he catches the younger man watching him. "Thanks for looking after my little brother" he states, adding, "Dean, by the way"

Frank sticks his hand out and Dean shakes it, as the younger man says "No worries, thanks for untying Joe He kinda has a habit for getting tied up. Frank Hardy"

As Dean was looking over Frank's shoulder he saw an unmistakable glint from a gun barrel. "Look out!" he shouted, shoving Frank and the younger boys down as the gun fired. The first shot sailed over them but the second clipped Dean in the shoulder, eliciting a pained yell as he hit the ground.

The man who'd fired the gun ran off, not willing to risk being identified by taking further action.

The boys turned to Dean. "Dean!" Sam cried, seeing his brother's bloodied shoulder.

"S'okay Sammy. I'm fine. Let's get out of here" Dean said, the last part ground out as a wave of pain engulfed him as he stood.

"Whoa there" Frank said in as commanding a voice as he could manage. "You are not fine. You need to get to a hospital"

"No. No hospitals" Dean said firmly, walking towards the road, where the Impala lay in wait.  
"But Dean you're shot" Sam pleaded.

"Sammy I been shot before, this isn't as bad as it looks, trust me" Dean said, not stopping, Sam walking alongside, concern etched in his face and eyes.

Joe and Frank shared an incredulous look "He's been shot before? This isn't as bad??" Frank whispered to his brother, "Who the hell is he?"

As they crested the rise, all four boys caught site of the Impala, proudly parked on the edge of the road.

"Hey baby" Dean whispered quietly, striding towards the Impala.

Joe let out a low whistle. "This yours?" he asked, admiring the American classic muscle car.

"Yep" Dean said happily, unlocking the doors and pulling out the first aid kit.

"Where's your ride?" Dean asked as he pulled out various things from the kit.

He pulled Sam, closer, wiped the blood off his face, noted with a wince the bruise growing, and the lump. He applied butterfly stitches to the gash after patting antiseptic powder onto it.

"One of our friends dropped us off, said to call when we were done" Joe said, then, noticing Dean was fixing his own wound now, "You want me to help"

With a shake of his head Dean set about cleaning off the blood from around the bullet wound. "Just a flesh wound, see Sammy" Dean said as he noticed his brother eyeing him anxiously.

"Might need a couple of stitches though, but that can wait. You wanna tape the back part for me? I can't reach properly" Dean asked his brother who quickly stepped in, efficiently taping the gauze pad and bandage to his brother's arm.

"You boys want a lift somewhere?" Dean offered casually, packing up the kit as though it was an everyday occurrence to be shot and patch himself up.

"Should you even be driving? I mean with painkillers an" all-

"Didn't take any" Dean said as if it was obvious, "Now hurry up and climb in or I'll leave you in the dust" Dean grumbled.

Sam jumped into the passenger seat and the two boys clambered into the back. Dean gunned the engine and manoeuvred the car back onto the road before asking "So. Where to"

The boys directed him on where to turn, taking him to their house. Dean pulled up and looked at the charming Victorian home, with the bog old oak tree out front. He gazed at the house, feeling a momentary pang for what he'd lost when his mother died.

"Last stop for mom, dad and apple pie" he quipped.

All of them exited the car and stood facing each other. Eyeing the pale Dean and tired, sick looking Sam, Frank made his decision. Joe got there first.

"So, are you coming in or what? By the car in the drive Dad's back, Mom's home and I'm pretty sure there's pie, though not positive on the apple" Joe said happily, smile in place.

"Uh, I don't think- Dean only got so far before Laura Hardy stepped out of the picturesque Victorian home.

"You're finally home" Laura called as she walked towards them, "who are your friends?" she asked curiously. She'd seen the boys come home bruised and scraped many times before, her eyes were practiced in seeking out injuries as Joe, her youngest was often fond of the "I'm fine" routine. Almost immediately she noticed the young man's shoulder and the boy's nasty wound on his forehead.

"Never mind" she cut in, ushering all of the young men inside, "all of you inside now" she added sternly, mothering mode in full force.

"Uhm m'am, no offence but we should really- Dean tried only to be cut off again.

"Should really get inside now before I get in a temper and you catch cold, yes I know" Laura finished, shoving the young man gently inside. She waited until all the boys were in before shutting the door and calling out to her husband.

"Fenton! The boys are home!" she called, and soon her husband, Joe and Frank's father came striding into the kitchen where she'd seated the boys.

"Well, what have we here?" Fenton asked, eyes alight with amusement, "I seem to remember two boys leaving the house. You pick up some strays, Laura?" Fenton asked good-naturedly.

Dean stood uncomfortably, "Sir, like I was trying to tell your wife, my brother and I should really get going" Dean tried again, hoping he'd have more luck with this bear of a man. His shoulder and arm was aching, pain pulsing upward creating a mother of a headache. All he wanted to do was find a room and sleep.

"Nonsense, son, you should at least get patched up before you go home, no doubt you got mixed in with my boys" Fenton laughed good naturedly, "they seem to have an eye for trouble"

"Dad, Mom, this is Dean and Sam Winchester" Joe introduced.

"Dean here saved my butt from two hoods in that old abandoned warehouse we were checking out," Joe added.

"What Joe means is he got tied to a chair. Again" Frank said, eyeing his brother before turning back to his father, "those goons had guns, Dad. I'd say the warehouse is a pretty likely choice for a hideout at least" he finished.

"Guns?" Laura asked, alarmed. She looked the boys over more intently upon this news, before pulling out the first aid kit from under the kitchen sink and laying it out on the table.

"Dean, was it?" Laura asked the oldest of the boys. "let me take a look at that arm, please" she requested, determined to have her way.

"Really, Mrs. Hardy it's fine" Dean protested as she pulled him towards a chair and pushed him down, careful to avoid his injured side.

"I'm sure it is Dean, just like my Joe is "fine" every time he gets tied to a chair. Humor me and stay still while I at least fix it up" Laura said firmly. She didn't like how pale the young man looked, or how a thin sheen of sweat covered his skin. It was obvious he was in pain but she just couldn't see why he was being so stubborn.

"Yes m'am" Dean answered tiredly, in truth grateful for the chair. "But first can you check out Sammy, please?" he asked, eyes on the petite woman in front of him. It was clear he wasn't going to let her treat him until she dealt with his younger brother, so she acquiesced.

"Sam?" she asked gently, and the younger boy rolled his eyes at his brother, plonking down into the seat next to him. Frank, Joe and Fenton were all watching this show-down of wills between Dean and Laura, each with a small smile on their face, having dealt with her mothering tendencies and iron will many times before. Joe had cleaned up and was holding a cool pack to his black eye, but otherwise was fine.

Laura re-cleaned the gash on Sam's head after checking the butterfly stitches, fixed up the smaller cuts and bruises the boy harbored before patting him on the shoulder and giving him some aspirin and a glass of water.

"Now, young man" she said, directing her full attention to Dean, "no more stalling"

Dean sighed, slumping a little into his seat, not finding enough energy to start the debate anew. Sam eyed his older brother worriedly; he knew Dean didn't like getting help from anyone, not even Sam or their father, let alone people he barely knew. To be this placid Dean must have been in pain.

"Dean?" Sam asked, a thousand questions worked into just that one word.

"I'm fine Sam" Dean answered tiredly, flashing his little brother a quick, reassuring smile, "stop being such a drama queen"

"Take your shirt off, please" Laura requested, having paused her ministrations at the brother's words.

"What?" Dean asked, eyes on Laura again.

"Come one, or I'll cut it off you instead" Laura encouraged.

Dean slowly peeled the shirt off; made easier by the fact Laura had dampened the stiffening blood on it, and passed it to her waiting hands.

"Joe can you put this in the soaking tub please?" Laura requested, giving her youngest the bloody shirt.

"Sure, mom" Joe answered, wandering off to the laundry.

Dean moved his eyes back to Sam, smirking lightly and saying "See, Sammy, I told ya women love me" earning a quick slap on the arm from Laura who smiled at the young man's attempt to lighten his brother's mood, despite his own pain.

"You'd best watch what you're saying there, young man. That's my wife you're talking about" Fenton said, mock glaring. He turned to Frank "How about you tell me exactly what happened, son? I'm sure Dean here didn't get that bullet hole just from untying Joe" he added, nodding to where Dean sat at the kitchen table, being fixed up by Laura and eyed carefully by a worried Sam.

"No he didn't" Frank agreed. "He got it from saving our behinds after one of the goons shot at us" he said, and launched into telling the story about what happened. Joe, having returned from the laundry, added in his half and Fenton listened attentively, taking in the details his sons gave him, storing them for future reference.

"Well, that's quite a story for one afternoon's work" Fenton said as he expelled a long breath.

Suddenly, a loud noise split the air; ACDC blasted from Dean's pocket. Quickly, with a slightly sheepish grin on his face, he pulled out his cell, flipping it open to answer.

Dean turned slightly in his chair towards Sam but away from the others as he spoke into the phone.

"Yes sir"

"No sir"

"Yeah, okay"

Dean clipped the phone shut, and met Sam's eyes.

"Dad?" the younger boy asked.

"Yeah. He's gonna be out of town a few more days. Said he might even put in a call to Caleb if he and Bobby think the job needs it" Dean said, not elaborating on what the "job" was.

"Well then how about you boys stay here?" Laura offered up. "You could take the spare room or bunk in with the boys" she said, sounding as though she'd already decided.

"We wouldn't want to inconvenience you, m'am" Dean said, trying to politely back out of the offer. He didn't have anything against the Hardy's but instinct and training went against accepting offers from practical strangers. He also wouldn't be able to salt doors or windows here without raising eyebrows and questions, which lessened the protection they'd have.

"Nonsense. I'd feel bad if we sent you off knowing you'd be stuck in one of those stuffy motels. At least stay for tonight" Laura insisted, looking towards Sam pointedly. "I'm sure Sam could do with a good rest in a nice bed and a good, hot shower" she added.

At the mention of Sam, Dean caved. He cast a slightly worried glance towards his younger brother, noting how tired and sick he looked, and accepted the offer.

Immediately Laura went into a flurry of action, shoving blankets at her sons with instructions to set up the extra beds in the boys rooms, so Sam and Dean could bunk in Joe's room and Joe could share with Frank so they wouldn't feel uncomfortable.

After that, Laura insisted Sam and Dean shower and change while she finished setting up dinner. Dean insisted on helping Laura but made Sam sit down, declaring his was only a cut but Sam could have a concussion. The mother-hen attitude made Sam roll his eyes but he acquiesced to his brother's order, realizing Dean had only really stayed for him.

Dinner was a relaxed affair for the most part with the Hardy boys conversing all the way through with Sam, though Dean only occasionally added in a comment, usually a wise crack of some sort.

Fenton and Laura observed the boys at their table; Laura with a mother's eye, Fenton with a detective's.

Laura noted the way Dean was constantly alert around Sam, protectively watching over him, and a bond between the two that rivalled her own boy's bond.

Fenton noticed the boy's attentiveness as well, recognizing it for what it was; a constant suspicion even when at ease, always on the look out for risks and enemies and wondered how someone so young could appear so battle-hardened. He noticed Sam didn't hold the Same amount of attentiveness as his older brother, relying on Dean's protection, though he often "checked in" by glancing at his brother. He watched how they spoke silently with their eyes, questions and answers darting between them unspoken but understood.

He'd also noticed how blasé Dean was with his injuries and noticed the numerous scars on his torso and arms; some familiar to him from his years on the force, GSW's and knife wounds, others obscure in origin. These boys certainly were a mystery; one a seemingly world-weary soldier, the other, Sam, held on to a piece of his childhood innocence, no doubt the result of his brother's careful protection.

Fenton knew that even with all his sons had seen they were like Sam and held onto innocence, whereas Dean was more like himself; he had seen and experienced far too much to be naïve about safety and life. He just wondered what kind of life they'd led to have this result. What exactly did their father do? Could he be involved in crime? Instinctively Fenton didn't think so; Dean's attitude and his side of the phone conversation earlier had been more authoritative and militaristic than it likely would have been if they were criminals.

That simply brought back the questions; who exactly were the Winchesters and what exactly did they do?

TBC……


	2. Chapter 2

WHAT BROTHERS DO

WHAT BROTHERS DO

A Hardy Boys/Supernatural Crossover

By _marasmorgue_

CHAPTER TWO

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Dean noticed Fenton watching him and gazed back with startling green eyes that held a gaze many a suspect had turned away from.

Laura chose that moment to announce that dinner was over and that the boys should get ready for bed, a prospect that some of them welcomed gratefully. Dean saw Sam safely into Joe's room before heading back down and helping Laura with the dishes.

"Your mother sure taught you manners, Dean, she should be proud of you" Laura commented happily as she packed away some of the dishes. Immediately Dean tensed and Laura wondered what she'd said that had bothered him so.

"I'm sorry did I say something bad?" she asked quietly. Dean kept his head down towards the sink as he replied.

"No, it's ok. Its – my mom is, uhm, she died. A long time ago, when Sammy was a baby" Dean said quietly in a strained voice.

Laura's face crumpled in sympathy. "Oh Dean, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I meant what I said though, she'd be so proud of you I'm sure. Both of you. I've seen the way you care for Sam, it's something to make any mother proud" Laura said, hoping she wasn't stepping over too many boundaries.

"Thanks" the young man said quietly, turning his head and giving Laura a slight grin. She smiled back, inwardly sighing in relief; she hadn't alienated the boy with her thoughtless comment.

They finished the dishes in companionable silence before Dean headed up to check on Sam. He took the stairs two at a time, compensating for his height and the smallness of the steps and arrived at the door to Joe's bedroom where he'd seen Sam to earlier. Before opening the door, he heard voices; Joe and Sam were talking away a mile a minute. He grinned; at least something good had come out of staying at the Hardy's for the night. Recently they'd been moving a lot and Sam hadn't much of a chance to talk to kids his age, Dean being his main companion, and he was glad his little brother had finally gotten the chance.

He walked in with a smirk plastered on his face.

"So, what are you girls up to?" he asked, smiling, as Joe and Sam looked up from their place on the floor.

"Shut up Dean" Sam said in mock anger, "I'm sure you wouldn't understand" he added, pointing to the books spread out between the boys.

Dean glanced briefly at the titles; a mix of fiction and schoolbooks lay spread out, and grimaced. "Damn straight I wouldn't understand, shouldn't you be knee deep in comics, or, even better talking about girls?" he asked. He never could get why Sammy was so happy with his nose stuck in a book. He'd rather be hunting, or, if not that, then perhaps hunting of a different kind.

"Not everyone thinks with their downstairs brain all the time, Dean. Though I can understand you, not having an upstairs one" Sam said, a grin on his face. He'd finally got one up on his brother.

Dean grinned back; maybe he and Sam _were_ more alike than he thought.

"Shut up bitch" he answered back.

Sam's grin widened. "Jerk"

And with that, Dean walked back out of the room, closing the door and after checking on Frank, he headed back downstairs.

Fenton greeted him as he entered the living room, sitting in a leather chair and sipping a drink, paper in hand. "Hey, didn't think you'd still be up" the older man greeted.

"Sammy and Joe are talking" Dean explained. "And I don't exactly feel like sleeping" he added. He'd checked in briefly on Frank who'd been listening to music via headphones whilst studying, and had opted for going downstairs.

"Frank?" Fenton inquired.

"Studying" Dean answered. The older man grinned at him. "Then I guess you're stuck with me" he said.

"Fine by me" Dean answered. "Frank and Joe said something about you investigating a crime racket when we were coming back earlier" Dean said by way of introducing a topic both men could discuss.

Fenton raised a brow at the professional tone Dean had adopted.

"Yeah. Started out as a missing persons case; fair few people have gone missing in similar circumstances, no trace of them. Thing is, none of them were really connected at a glance; they weren't family, didn't have any real connections" Fenton stated. He wasn't normally one to talk about cases with just anyone, but the young man in front of him seemed intelligent and able, so he didn't see the harm in bouncing some facts and ideas off him.

"So just random people going missing. How did you figure a crime racket fit the picture?" Dean asked.

"I looked a little deeper. Found some connections, some anomalies. Things just didn't add up. Took what I had to some of my own connections and started piecing things together. From what I could gather, recently there's been a lot of movement underground, rumor has it a new big bad's in town, clearing out any obstacles" Fenton said, tone serious.

"So why haven't you just handed the case over to the cops?" Dean asked, curious.

"It's just so, well, odd" Fenton admitted. "Nothing's turned up on the MP's so they can't further their investigations and there's nothing solid on the underground level so no one can act. It's almost as if whoever they are, they're playing in the shadows" he finished.

_More than just the shadows_, Dean thought to himself.

The two men continued to discuss aspects of the case; Dean questioning, Fenton providing facts and theories.

_Well for someone who has no clue what he's really going up against, he's got it down pretty good_, Dean thought. He had listened attentively as Fenton gave him the details of his current case and his theories as to how everything connected. Where it came unstuck was Fenton couldn't find a fitting motivation for what was going on to cement the case. _That's to be expected though_, Dean thought, _I mean, normal people wouldn't think about the things we hunt, they don't even know they exist except for in stories_.

Fenton caught sight of Dean yawning and grinned.

The young man had listened intently to the details of his case, passing comments occasionally, asking questions where due.

The older man was surprised how efficient and professional Dean was in obtaining information and processing it to come to a sensible conclusion; he wasn't entirely unconvinced that the boy wasn't trained in investigations like his boys were, but he just couldn't quite picture it.

There was just something that didn't add up; like the knowing look on his face when Fenton had admitted he didn't quite understand the reasoning behind what had been happening.

The younger man looked tired, and he recalled his injuries and the long day the boy would've had. _Especially if Frank and Joe were involved_, Fenton thought, mentally chuckling.

"Well I think I've bored you enough for now. How about you check on that brother of yours and "crash" as the boys say" Fenton suggested.

Dean yawned again, grinning and rose, "Reckon I might just do that" he agreed, bidding good night to the older man and heading upstairs.

He soon found Sam, already in bed, apparently waiting up for him.

"Hey Sammy, you right?" Dean enquired.

"Yeah" Sam yawned, "you comin' ta bed now?" the younger boy asked sleepily.

"Yeah" Dean answered. He climbed into bed, weary and sore from the day, only pausing to check on Sammy once more and reassure himself of the knife under his pillow before falling asleep.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

The next morning found Dean waking early as usual, so he left his brother after checking he was still asleep and headed down to the kitchen where he heard a kettle boiling.

Laura Hardy turned as she heard feet shuffling across the linoleum and found Dean walking towards her.

"Morning" he said casually, "want some help?" he asked, indicating the bacon and eggs sizzling away in the pan. He was used to preparing meals for his brother and his father and, not that he'd admit it, enjoyed it just a bit.

"You don't have to" Laura chuckled, "you keep doing this and I might just have to keep you around" she joked.

"How's your brother?" she asked as she pulled out the toaster, passing it for Dean to plug it in.

"Fine, he's still sleeping. Don't know how the kid can sleep so much" Dean said as he grabbed a loaf of bread at Laura's instruction.

"Just load it up and keep it going" she said, turning back to the fry pan.

Pretty soon the kitchen table was loaded with bacon, eggs, toast, juice, coffee and pancakes and the rest of the house joined Laura and Dean.

"I heard the phone ring earlier, honey, was it Gertrude?" Fenton Hardy asked as he sipped his scorching coffee.

"Yes, she said she was going to stay with her friend, Mildred, for another week or so" Laura stated as she passed the plate of bacon over to a sleepy Joe.

"Well at least that means we won't get lectured about being "reckless and careless" again for a while" Joe stated happily. He loved his aunt, but she was always grumbling about the boys not being careful enough and getting into trouble. _After all, they always got out of it didn't they?_

"Joe" Laura admonished, a smile on her face, "she means well"

"I know, but geeze, _every_ time?" he complained.

Frank laughed, "Well maybe if you didn't get kidnapped and tied up so often she wouldn't keep saying it" he joked.

Joe's only answer was to roll his eyes, which caused the rest of the table to grin.

"So, boys" Fenton started, looking towards his sons, "what are you up to today?"

"Not sure" Frank admitted, then, looking towards Joe and receiving a nod he went on, "we were thinking we might head out to that warehouse again today"

"Think again, Frank. I don't want you boys going anywhere near that place. If those goons are connected to my case, they're probably more dangerous than you think" Fenton said sternly. He was proud of his boys and their work but he didn't want them needlessly hurt.

"But it's worth checking out properly and we didn't really get the chance to yesterday, what with Joe getting tied up again" Frank argued.

"Which is why I'm going there today" Fenton stated.

"You need someone to back you up Dad. We should go with you" Joe insisted.

"No"

Laura took the chance to intervene. "I was thinking maybe you boys could all go out today? Maybe see a movie, go visit Chet. Then we could all have a barbeque back here tonight. I'm sure Sam and Dean would enjoy meeting everyone" she added.

At this, Joe lightened up considerably, and even Frank looked happier.

"How about it, Sam?" Joe asked eagerly.

Sam turned to Dean. "Can I, Dean?" he asked. Whilst he may have been sixteen he still knew the drill of who was in charge when their father was away and he didn't mind having to defer to Dean, generally because his big brother couldn't resist his pleading looks.

"Why not?" Dean said, enjoying the full on Sammy smile he got for his answer.

"You gonna come to?" Frank asked.

"Nah, I gotta do some work on my baby out there, then I figure, if your Dad doesn't mind I might tag along with him to the warehouse we were at yesterday. Like you said, none of us got to finish what we went there for, and two pairs of eyes are better than one. Plus, if those goons are there again, backup might come in handy" Dean added. He saw Sam's flitting look of worry, replaced by understanding; if Fenton came across anything…. Unusual he wouldn't be able to handle it, no matter how capable he was.

"You sure you don't want to hang around with the boys today, Dean?" Fenton asked.

"Nah" Dean answered, finishing off his breakfast coffee.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

With the day's plans settled, everyone went about gathering what they needed for the day; Dean made sure Sam's mobile was fully charged "just in case he needed him" which earned him an eye roll from his little brother. Dean might have been letting him go, but he wasn't doing it without the usual protective worry.

"D e a n" Sam whined.

"S a m m y" Dean whined back. "You wanna go or not?"

"Fine. Promise you'll be careful?" Sam asked, concern in his eyes. "I could come, you know, if you wanted?" he asked. He really wanted to spend the day with Joe and Frank but he also didn't want to break the rule of having backup.

"Nah. Relax Sammy; I've got Fenton for backup, don't I? Plus, I doubt anything will happen. Now hurry up and get your lazy butt downstairs; I wanna tune up my baby before I go" Dean said, grinning as he pushed his brother towards the stairs.

"It's Sam" Sam muttered, a grin belying his tone.

"Whatever bitch" Dean replied.

"Jerk" Sam quipped back.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

"You sure you don't want to go with the boys?" Fenton Hardy asked the older Winchester, "I'm sure you could still catch up to them. You don't have to come out to the warehouse with me" he added.

Dean just grinned at the older man "Trying to get rid of me, eh? Nah, I want to check the place out myself, and I'd prefer to do it today"

"Wouldn't have anything to do with not wanting Sam to go there again would it?" Fenton asked.

"No more than you going has to do with not wanting Frank and Joe there again" Dean replied as he gently shut the Impala's hood.

Fenton chuckled. "You got me there"

"So, you ready to go?" Dean asked Fenton. He was pleased he'd been able to check the Impala's stock in the trunk while everyone else was distracted- he didn't exactly feel like explaining the virtual armory in there.

He'd been able to tuck away a few weapons himself earlier; gun at the small of his back, silver knife and an iron file in his boots, salt in one pocket and holy water in the other. He didn't know if he should expect anything supernatural in the day, but he sure as hell wasn't going anywhere unprepared.

"Yeah" Fenton confirmed as he settled into the passenger side of the Impala. He had offered to use his vehicle but Dean declined; he wanted supplies nearby should they be needed and he didn't fancy dragging his armory around in duffle bags, hence him taking the Impala.

"Let's hit it then" Dean said, gunning the engine.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Some time later the two men arrived not far from the warehouse. Pulling up, Dean sidled the Impala under the protective cover of some trees; close enough to run to, far enough away not to be seen or suspected.

Climbing out of the car he subtly checked the gun at his back and his other stashed weapons, making sure they were easily reachable.

Too much could go wrong in a well planned endeavour that in one with _no_ plan he wasn't willing to risk costly mistakes because of laziness.

"Perimeter scout first, then in through the back?" Dean asked Fenton.

The older mans eyebrows rose slightly in surprise; this kid sure was well trained.

"Sounds good" he concurred, pulling out his Glock and checking it over before tucking it back into the hip holster he wore.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

"So how long have you guys lived around here?" Sam asked from the left-hand back seat of the Hardy boys" van.

"Forever" Joe stated from beside him. Usually he'd sit up front with Frank but today he chose to sit back with Sam.

"How about you? Where do you guys come from?" Frank asked from up front. They'd been driving for a while and were headed out to meet up with Chet and the rest of the gang.

"We move a lot, but originally we come from Kansas" Sam said.

He was never entirely sure what to say when that question came around, which was pretty frequently, so he just stuck to the bare basics.

"Cool" Joe answered as they pulled into Chet's drive. "Must be fun to get to see different places, huh?" he asked casually.

"Yeah" Sam agreed, "It is mostly."

The boys tumbled out of the van to be greeted by a group of teenagers around the Same age.

"Hey Frank, Joe" Chet Morton called. "Who's your friend?" he asked, grinning at Sam.

Sam smiled back as Joe answered. "This here is Sam Winchester, Sam, this is Chet, that's Phil, Biff and Tony" he said, pointing an extended arm at each boy as he introduced them.

"Hi" they called, and Sam answered happily back. They all seemed really friendly, just like Frank and Joe. He was glad Dean had let him come.

"You guys up for a barbeque tonight?" Frank asked Chet and the rest of the boys.

"When are we ever not up for a barbeque?" Chet laughed back. "What's it for?"

"Mom keeping us outta trouble. Plus I think she's trying to con Sam and Dean into staying longer with us" Joe answered back, laughing.

"Dean?" Phil asked.

"Sam's big brother" Frank replied, "He's gone with Dad to check out the warehouse Chet here dropped us off at yesterday"

"Oh yeah, how did that go for ya?" Chet asked. He'd received a message from Joe saying a lift home wasn't necessary, but not much more than that.

"Joe got tied to a chair" Frank said teasingly.

"Again?" the others chorused.

"Yeah. That's where we met Sam and Dean. Dean saved Joe's butt and I found Sam here having a nap on the forest floor outside the warehouse" Frank said.

"No kiddin'? I was wonderin' where you got that shiner Joe, and you, Sam, guess that explains the slice on your head, huh?" Chet barrelled out.

Both boys looked suitably sheepish and the rest of the teens laughed comfortably.

"So, we gonna head back to your place? I'm sure your mom wouldn't mind some help if we're all invited. Normally Callie would be kickin' our butts to go help. Pity she's away right now, huh Frank?" Tony piped in. They all knew about Callie and Frank; they'd been going out for a while and everyone was good friends.

"Yeah, yeah, just let us know when you get your own girl, Tony" Frank fired back grinning, setting the boys off once more.

Eventually, after a while mucking around and everyone getting to know Sam, the boys piled into the van and Chet's car and headed back to the Hardy's place. That is, after they made a few stops, of course.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

"You see anything?" Dean asked as he and Fenton circuited the warehouse.

They'd spent a good while scouting the area for any obvious lookouts but hadn't seen any so had moved on to stepping the perimeter of the warehouse, staying in the cover of tress and shadows when they could for cautions" sake.

Dean had shown Fenton where he'd entered the warehouse when he found Joe as they walked around the abandoned building, both noting possible entry and exit points along the way, Dean for the second time, thought the last had been somewhat rushed and incomplete.

"Nope" Fenton answered back.

"Me neither"

"Shall we go on in then?" Fenton enquired. He was impressed with the amount of training the younger man had obviously had to become so efficient and professional and had no problem with being equal to someone less than half his age.

_The kid deserves the respect_, Fenton thought to himself as they stealthily entered the building.

Dean took point once inside the warehouse; leading Fenton along the route he'd taken previously when he had come across Joe, though the men walked side by side for the most part.

"Here it is" Dean said quietly, turning to Fenton. He stopped suddenly, hairs on the back of his neck rising with his hunter's senses, noting Fenton's eyes go slightly wider as he coarsely whispered.

"What the hell?"

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

"Well well well. If it isn't the brat from yesterday. Oh and you brought a new friend, how delightful" the gunman sneered at the two men.

"Shut up, asshole" Dean snapped. The hairs on the back of his neck rose with his hunters instinct, unease settling in like a bad meal in the pit of his stomach.

Fenton tensed slightly beside him, shifting on his feet.

"Oh now now, young Mr. Winchester, that's hardly language suitable in the presence of a lady now is it?" a smooth voice called from the darkness.

Dean glared towards the sound of the voice, replying, "and I don't see any ladies" as the slick-looking man stepped into the light.

Why was the area so dark? It hadn't been this dark before, and then it was later than it was now. It made him all the more tense and uneasy that he couldn't scope the whole area for dangers. Every instinct was calling to him that there was something wrong. He just wasn't sure what, and he didn't want to run before he knew. That wasn't how they did things. He was, however, glad Sam had convinced him to let him go with Joe and Frank. At least he's not here, he thought.

At that, a sleek, feminine form was revealed from the shadows the man had appeared from.

"He's pretty" the woman purred, eyeing Dean like a piece of meat.

"Who the hell are you?" Dean demanded. Beside him, Fenton wished the younger man would cool off and stop trying to antagonize the people. He wasn't sure what exactly was going on; a feeling he swore he'd never get used to. He sure as hell didn't like it.

The man tutted, "Oh I'm hurt, don't tell me Daddy Winchester didn't tell his best little soldiers about me? By the way, how is sweet little Samuel?" he asked, trying to get a rise out of Dean.

He wasn't disappointed. At the mention of his little brother Dean tensed; on the balls of his feet and ready to fight. Fenton laid an arm across the young man's chest, halting him.

"Answer the question, who the hell are you?" Fenton growled. He was quickly growing tired of being lead around the conversation with no answers in sight.

"Ah, so the great investigator does speak. I was beginning to think they were just rumors, and that you were in fact a mute. Or obsessed with charades" the man smirked. "You really should calm down, though, my dear Mr. Hardy, it'll do no good for your blood pressure" he scolded lightly.

Blood pressure? Fenton thought, what the hell kind of a thing to say was that?

Beside him, Dean was now thrumming with contained tension and violence as he muttered "shit" under his breath.

Sinister laughter echoed ominously throughout the warehouse, ricocheting back and forth as if mocking the two men, as several more people stepped forward into the light.

Fenton reached for his gun, slipping it smoothly out of the holster and into his hand. This only caused more laughter.

"Dear me, Mr. Hardy, do you honestly think that'll do any good against me?" he asked, still chuckling. The woman beside him sniggered, a sound unsuited to her dark beauty.

Crap crap crap crap. Dean thought rapidly. This was just going from bad to worse. He wasn't expecting this much of a reception, if any. Like things ever go our way, he thought. Man does irony bite. Mentally he cursed again. His only back-up was an inexperienced ex-cop with a normal, ergo useless handgun and a temper.

Crap.

Silently he edged closer to Fenton, shoulder to shoulder, catching the older man's eyes. He was so used to being able to silently communicate with his father or brother, even Bobby and Caleb. Could he manage to convey his message to the older man?

Fenton turned his eyes towards Dean. he'd felt him edge closer and had wondered what he was doing before he realized he was staring intently at him. What could he want? He saw Dean's eyes waver from himself, to Fenton, to the group of people standing before them to himself again. Did he want to take point? Fenton wasn't sure why, but he nodded ever so slightly. Hopefully he'd interpreted correctly. He still didn't think he should let Dean take point, after all he was practically still a kid.

Dean bent slightly, sliding the silver knife out of his boot with one hand, the gun from his back with the other.

"Well, it's been fun, guys, but me and Fen here, we gotta go" Dean quipped as he swiftly raised the gun, shooting the two foremost men and the woman promptly in the heart. Fenton was about to protest the callous onslaught when the remaining people's features morphed, canines elongating, eyes flashing disturbingly. Fenton. shot at one of them with his gun but it just leered and leapt towards him.

Dean was grappling with two more as the last lunged at Fenton. Shocked, he acted on instinct, throwing the vampire into the wall. Dean came up against Fenton as he managed to shoot another man, thrusting the silver knife into one of his hands.

"Aim for the heart and for Hell's sake, don't miss" Dean grunted out as the other vampire tackled him. He worked the pistol upwards and fired repeatedly, killing his attacker.

Turning he noted Fenton grappling with the last of them and picked up the Same 2x4 he'd used previously, swinging it viciously at the assailant, knocking him off Fenton.

"Come on, we have to go" Dean growled out. He was almost out of bullets and one silver knife wasn't going to do them any good if any more "people" showed up.

Quickly they made their way out of the warehouse, Dean once more taking point as he navigated through the trees back towards the Impala.

"What the hell were they?" Fenton panted out, adrenalin beginning to fade from the fight. "I shot that last one at almost point-blank range and he just grinned" he said, stunned.

"I'm not so sure you want to know" Dean said as he opened the driver's door to the Impala, "And I'm pretty sure you won't believe me even if I do tell you"

TBC……


	3. Chapter 3

WHAT BROTHERS DO

WHAT BROTHERS DO

A Hardy Boys/Supernatural Crossover

By _marasmorgue_

CHAPTER THREE

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

"Son, I"ve seen a lot of things in my time, that wasn't one of them and I want an explanation believe me" Fenton said forcefully.

"Well tell me, Mr. Hardy, do you believe in vampires?" Dean asked as he dropped the gun beside him and gunned the engine.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You sure we've got enough here, Chet?" Joe Hardy joked as they finished loading their "supplies" into the vehicles. The boys had gathered a sizeable amount of movies to watch – in the hopes everyone could agree on at least one of them to watch.

"Ha ha Joe. Remember last time?" Chet shot back as he finished shutting the doors again. The last time everyone had tried to watch a movie resulted in a two hour long debate on whether Meg Ryan was worth watching or not and what genre was the best out of action, comedy or horror. Needless to say no movie was actually seen that time.

"Yeah" Joe reminisced, "that was fun" he grinned. Frank threw a brotherly punch at him and Sam smiled. This was going to be fun.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Do I believe in what?" Fenton asked incredulously. He was still trying to process what he'd seen and now the boy was talking about Dracula?

"Vampires, Mr. Hardy" Dean repeated.

"Son, you may as well call me Fenton" Fenton absently instructed as he pieced what Dean had just said and what he'd experienced together. It may have sounded absolutely bizarre and unreal but it also made alarming sense. _Vampires_, thought Fenton, shaking his head mentally. _What next?_

Dean glanced across at the older investigator. _Is he gonna tell me I"m nuts already or what?_ Dean thought. When they'd been forced to tell the truth to people before they were met with one of three things; denial, aggression and pity (the whole, oh your poor, nutty soul routine), or pure, simple horror at the reality of it all.

"Huh"

_Huh_? Dean thought.

_Vampires are real. Dean told me and the boys he and Sam were helping out their father. So logically this means they"re_ –

"Son, please tell me you aren"t some kind of modern day Van Helsing" Fenton said.

At that Dean laughed. Either the guy was in shock or he was cool (well, as cool as you can be in this situation) about the whole "vampires are real" thing.

"Do you believe me?" Dean asked.

Fenton sighed. "Let's just say after all the years I"ve spent on the force and investigating, most things people do have left me confused. At least your adversary makes sense"

"Monsters I get, people are just plain crazy" Dean said in acknowledgement.

"Damn straight" Fenton agreed. "Now how about you fill me in on the details of my case you obviously know about?" he asked. He may not have been happy with what he'd just learnt, but he was damned if he was going to crawl underneath the covers and deny it was real. After all, he'd seen it. Now all he had to do was tell the boys and Laura. They weren't a family that held secrets and he wasn't going to allow them to be ignorant of the now increased dangers in the world.

Dean glanced at the older man and smiled. He sure was fierce, kinda reminded him of his dad. "That I can do sir" Dean said grinning.

By the time they'd reached the Hardy's Victorian home Dean had talked to his father about teaching Fenton and the boys more about the supernatural, and his dad had agreed that, in the circumstances, it was best.

It had taken a fair amount of explaining for John to get past the fact his sons were staying with the Hardy family but after everything was said he'd agreed that if it was alright with Fenton and Laura the boys could stay with them until he, Bobby and Caleb returned, a time that was hard to pin down. They'd been tracking lead after lead in an effort to find the bottom (or rather, top) of the whole crime ring thing but hadn't struck pay dirt yet. With orders to educate and be on alert, John let his son go.

The two men hoped out of the Impala and Dean unloaded his weaponry, opening up the trunk and the false cavity that lay at the bottom. Fenton eased around the car, silver knife in hand and whistled at the sight of the virtual armory.

"Impressive" Fenton acknowledged. He was a little shocked at how much equipment and weaponry the boy had stashed in his car but was beginning to get a grasp on how real, dangerous and important this all was. He just couldn't believe more people weren't aware of it.

"Yeah? You should see my Dad's truck" Dean grinned. He quickly wiped and oiled the gun before placing it carefully in its allocated position. Fenton then handed him the knife, which Dean also wiped before sheathing it and placing it in the trunk beside all the others.

"The boys should be here soon" Fenton commented as he glanced at his watch.

"Yeah" Dean agreed. He needed to talk to Sammy. A thought struck him then. "You gonna tell Frank and Joe about all this?" he asked, waving his arm around vaguely.

Fenton nodded. "They need to be told. Our family sticks together in everything. Plus, even if I didn't tell them, no doubt they'd get into some kind of trouble finding out themselves" He grinned. "Then I'd have to go save their sorry butts"

Dean laughed. He liked Fenton and the way he faced the world and all in it. Men with more sordid, grim pasts than his had shied away from the truth like frightened children and it just notched the older man up higher in his book when he didn't.

Fenton grinned back. Everything may not have been what it had seemed at the start of the day but that wasn't going to stop him one bit.

"Now, how about we go see about setting this barbeque up after washing up? That way, by the time the boys arrive we'll have time to sit down and talk through this" Fenton offered.

"Sounds good" Dean agreed. Together the two men walked into the house. Tonight was certainly going to be interesting, that's for sure.

The barbeque was well underway by the time everyone had gathered at the Hardy's home. Dean sat back and watched as Sam got the chance to just be a normal kid (not that he liked being called a kid. He was, after all, sixteen) and have some fun. Dean had briefly pulled him aside and brought him up to date on what had gone down and the call to their father but other than that had stayed back and let Sam have his fun.

Joe and Frank had taken a shine to his little brother, as had all their friends and Dean was happy to just let it be. Hell, he wouldn't admit it anytime soon, but he was even happy that for once they had a chance to relax.

He'd shown Fenton quickly how to set up protective barriers around their home, schooled him on the importance of salt (luckily Laura stock-piled non-perishables) and the particular runes and sigils that helped ward off evil. Pretty soon the Hardy home was as drum-tight as it could be in such a short amount of time.

Fenton noticed how Dean was hanging back from the other boys. At first he'd thought maybe it was due to the fact he was older than any of the teens there, but after closer observation he'd noticed Dean tracking Sam with his eyes as he continually scouted the area with a predator's grace and skill.

It became apparent that while Dean was more relaxed than Fenton had seen him before, he was still on guard for his little brother, though he did seem happy. He excused himself from an ex-colleague and walked over to the younger man.

"Having fun?" he enquired casually.

Dean flashed him a grin, "Sure" came the casual reply as his eyes went to Sam once more.

Fenton continued to stare at Dean, forcing the young man to return his gaze after a while. "What?"

"Nothing" Fenton said. "Just thought maybe you'd be mucking around with the boys more" he commented to the young man.

"Nah, wouldn't want to ruin Sammy's fun. " Dean answered, tone-attempting nonchalance. Fenton, both as father and investigator, recognized the ruse for what it was.

He'd assumed that was part of the reason. That and most of the teens there had easy lives. Sure Chet and the others had some run-ins with cases Joe and Frank had dabbled in, but with the life Dean seemed to have led, what interest would he find in football or school sports?

"Plus, talking about school projects, geek-talk and sports isn't really my thing" Dean confessed with a wry grin.

Fenton grinned mentally, unless, of course, the _cheerleaders_ were involved. He'd seen the way Dean's eyes raked over the girls, and the looks he'd received in return, from both the young ladies _and_ their suitors.

Thankfully Dean had obviously decided against pursuing any of the girls at the barbeque, taken or not. That is, after exercising his charm on most of the girls, giving them a disarming grin Fenton was sure would raise some hell in bars. _Probably also caused some hell in high school_ Fenton thought. Fenton wondered if Dean leaving the girls basically alone (the eyes _did_ wander, after all) was out of respect or professionalism.

Deducing "hunting" and the current case was safer, more comfortable ground for the young man, he spent the rest of evening intermittently questioning Dean and talking to his and Laura's friends.

Dean, on his part, made no active attempt to invite himself into any of the games or conversations the younger teens were having, which mainly surrounded school, sports and girls.

He did, however, check in on occasion with Sam, discreetly, when his little brother grabbed a soda or some food from the table and coolers set up. Sam, for his part, came over to Dean a few times before turning back to Joe, Frank and the others.

He seemed to thrive in the normalcy. Dean allowed himself to wonder briefly how much of it was the company, and how much of it was the fact Sam knew their dad was going to be away a few more days.

Lately John and Sam had been having more "disagreements" than usual, often leaving Dean in the middle. Sam was beginning to resent John's nomadic behaviour, wanting to stay with the friends he'd made, the school he was going to.

He was becoming disillusioned to "hunting" and the lifestyle it promoted, beginning to want more. Dean didn't resent him so much for having his own dreams, just the way he went about showing it.

Dean shook his head, discarding the thoughts to focus on what he would need to teach Fenton, and, of course, the boys, the basics on protection and hunting, loosely planning "lessons" covering the major topics. That and he'd still need to be ready for his dad when they knew enough to take down this seemingly supernatural crime ring.

Well at least no one could complain life was boring.

SN**HB**SN**HB**SN**HB**SN**HB**SN**HB**SN**HB**SN

"Joe get in here already!" Fenton yelled from the family room. The rest of the Hardy's as well as Sam and Dean were all situated around the room, perched on various pieces of furniture. All they were waiting on was the youngest Hardy to come into the room.

"I'm coming!!" Joe yelled from the stairs, "Jeeze, you'd think it was the end of the world or something!" he cried dramatically as he entered the room with his disarming grin firmly in place.

By the time everyone had left the previous evening and the brothers had helped the Hardy's pack up Fenton had decided they would be better off getting a good night's rest before "the talk". Dean didn't mind; it gave him time to brief Sammy better and to work on what exactly he was going to do.

"So Dad, mind telling us what exactly you and Dean did yesterday? All you said at the barbeque was we needed to talk" Frank said, sitting next to his brother on the couch.

"Yeah, Dad, what's up?" Joe asked inquisitively beside his brother. He watched as his father's eyes flicked to Dean's before gazing around once more.

Fenton shifted uneasily in his chair. This was a tad harder than he thought it would be. Out of everything he'd ever thought about having to tell his family, informing them _vampires_ were real was not one of them.

"Well, yesterday when Dean and I went to that warehouse you boys visited, we had a little run in with some more of those people you met last time" Fenton said carefully.

"Yeah, and?" Joe asked. He'd figured that much out already.

"Thing is, son, they aren't exactly people" Fenton said, mentally berating himself for how _dumb_ that sounded, even to his ears.

The Hardy boys glanced at each other before turning back to their father.

"Uhh, what exactly do you mean then, Dad? What are they if they aren't people? I mean, the guys that tied me to that chair looked like people to me" Joe stated, eyeing his father and Dean alternately. Something was up.

"They were vampires" Fenton released in a rush of air.

Silence filled the room.

**SNHBSNHBSNHBSNHBSNHBSNHBSN **

Some time later……

After some ……… _intense_ discussion, followed by Joe's hysterical laughter, detailed explanations (peppered with questions from those _not_ involved at the warehouse) about the case, vampires and the supernatural, the Hardy brothers, Fenton, Laura and the two Winchesters had gotten down to business.

"So what do we need to know?" Frank asked, leaning forward from his seated position. He and Joe (minus Joe's laughter) had taken their lead on how to deal with things from their father, for which both Winchesters were grateful; Dean because it meant he didn't have to waste as much time trying convince as he did to explain and Sam because he'd been concerned the Hardy brothers wouldn't believe them and would take back their friendship.

"Just the basics at first" Dean said. "You guys know how ta shoot?" he asked, glancing from the boys to Fenton. Receiving a nod, he continued.

"That saves that hassle. First thing you guys should know about is the importance of salt" Dean stated, gaining weird looks from the brothers.

"_Salt?"_ the boys asked at the same time.

And on it went…. All day the boys trained, Dean and Sam instructing on basic protective measures (salt circles, runic symbols, etc) and how to defend against supernatural entities.

"So salt repels spirits and evil in general, right?" Joe clarified after going over the procedure again. "And silver, iron and holy water deters most things?"

"Yeah, that's right" Sam affirmed. Dean had mainly focused on tactics, dealing with the main entities- ghosts, poltergeists, etc, whilst he'd given Sam the task of the more… scholarly things, which was right up his avenue.

"Cool" Joe said, grinning at Sam.

**SNHBSNHBSNHBSNHB**

After the day spent training and teaching, the family had an early dinner and the boys, minus Dean, went upstairs to watch a movie.

The day had been a productive one, with the Hardy's quick to pick up on what Dean and Sam had started teaching them. Though they had a long way to go to become as efficient as the Winchester boys, Joe, Frank, Fenton and Laura all grasped the basic knowledge well.

"Thank you" Fenton said as he sat down next to Dean on the porch.

Dean looked surprised for a moment; he'd heard Fenton come out (with the porch door it was hard not to) but he hadn't been expecting what the older man had said.

"What for?" he asked.

Fenton gazed at Dean before answering. "For everything you've done, are doing, for us. Teaching me, the boys, even Laura. You're doing a great job." Fenton said.

**XxXxXxX**

Dean looked as though he didn't know how to respond. Fenton held his gaze, trying to assess this boy, no, this man, in front of him.

_His eyes_, Fenton thought, _his face can be a perfect mask, but if you look really close you can see the real him in his eyes_. _It's like his mask can't quite cover what he's thinking_, he thought.

Fenton watched Dean process his thanks, wondering how it must have been to grow up knowing about everything that lurked in the dark.

_My boys might've had to deal with the seedier side of life because of my work… but not until they were older did they get involved in it. _

_Not like Dean, even Sam, they know more about the dangers of life than most adults. Hell, probably more than most cops. _

_Sam at least has a buffer in Dean, a protector._

Even after all they'd have seen, he still has a piece of untouched innocence. But Dean… his eyes tell of everything he's seen, everything he's done. It's almost like the look a veteran soldier has. But he's so young, Fenton thought.

Fenton was brought out of his impromptu reflection by Dean's reply.

"Thanks, but really, we're just doing our job" Dean answered a little uncomfortably. Normally he'd give a smart response but he didn't want to belittle Fenton's words. He'd quickly come to respect the ex-cop next to him, the way he dealt with finding out about the supernatural.

"All the same, you did good today. Did your father say when he'd get here?" Fenton asked, referring to the brief phone call Dean had received earlier that day.

"Nah, not really. Said he, Caleb and Bobby would be here as soon as they could but they were still tracking down some leads" Dean answered.

"Caleb and Bobby?" Fenton asked.

"Hunters. Bobby's also a mechanic, owns a junkyard in Nebraska. Caleb's an arms man, though I dunno if I shoulda told you that, being a lawman an" all" Dean added with a tired grin.

"Retired lawman. I'm not a police officer anymore and private detectives aren't normally known for policing in general… more sneaking around really" Fenton answered with a grin.

"Fair enough" Dean conceded. "They're both good guys. I've known Caleb and Bobby since I was a kid. Good hunters, too. Bobby's like a walking redneck encyclopaedia of the occult, not to mention one o" the best mechanics I know and Caleb can acquire, shoot, disassemble and assemble almost anything that goes "bang" or has a firing pin." Dean said proudly.

Though both men were older, and Bobby's case, considerably older, than he was, he counted them his closest friends. Travelling around a lot didn't leave much room for being friends with "normal" people, so hunters like Bobby and Caleb were the only people Dean really bothered with. Except for girls. Girls were the exception to his relationship "rules".

"And your Dad's an ex-marine?" Fenton asked.

Dean nodded, "Yeah, but that was over before I was born."

"No wonder you boys are so well trained" Fenton observed, "I have to admit, I was wondering where you'd gotten all your knowledge on infiltrating and such. But with what you've told me, if those three men even taught you a little of what they know, it's no wonder you're so efficient."

Dean gave a smile at Fenton's words.

The two men continued talking for a while before falling into a comfortable silence.

Fenton went back over the recent events, from meeting the Winchester brothers, to the vampires to that day's conversations and training. A while later he noticed Dean had slouched further down, head leaning almost awkwardly to one side, eyes lowered to half mast.

_He's almost asleep_, Fenton thought, a small smile tugging at his lips. _Well it's no wonder_, he thought, _he's been on his feet all day today, is wandering around with a gunshot wound even if he does say it's nothing, and he doesn't seem to have gotten much sleep, either_. _I wouldn't have been surprised if he'd fallen asleep when we were talking_.

Fenton nudged Dean slightly, startling the younger man, "How about we head back inside?" he suggested, "All that monkey'in around you had us do today has me beat" he said, hopping up off the seat.

Dean nodded tiredly and dragged himself from the chair. "Yeah, should probably go check on Sammy, anyway" he said, stretching slowly to ease kinks out of tense muscles.

The men walked back inside, Dean trailing behind before clambering upstairs to the room he and Sam had been sharing. He might have been reserved about staying with the Hardy family at first, but the bonus of having a comfortable warm bed, working heating and a good shower was appealing. Not to mention the Hardy's were great.

He found Sam sprawled on top of his mattress and grinned at his little brother's prone form. Sammy could sleep anywhere.

Dean grabbed the extra blanket from his bed and threw it over Sam casually, the younger brother barely stirring at the action.

He pulled back his own covers and slid deep into the bed, relishing the warm comfort it radiated, dropping off to sleep within minutes. He hoped John, Bobby and Caleb would get here soon. Until then he'd continue helping the Hardy's train and keep teaching them, but he couldn't wait for the hunt to begin.

**SNHBSNHBSNHBSNHBSNHBSNHBSNHBSN**

The next day saw Dean rising early again. _What is it with this place and me getting up so early?_ He thought as he padded down the stairs after his shower. Sam was still snoring away in his bed when Dean had gone back in after his shower, so he'd decided to leave him there. _Kid deserves a break after the effort he put in yesterday,_ Dean thought. _Dad'd be proud if he saw the way Sammy handled teaching Joe and Frank_.

Laura was already in the kitchen when Dean arrived. Turning, she smiled, "Morning Dean"

"Morning Mrs. Hardy" Dean greeted in return.

He and Laura had quickly gotten into a routine of fixing breakfast. His help was partly because it was what his Dad would expect of him (they always helped out at Bobby's and Caleb's places, dishes, food, anything) and partly because he was used to getting Sam breakfast and it felt weird (and slightly wrong) to have someone else fix it for him.

So Dean manned the toaster, fixed coffee and brought out juice while Laura pulled out cereal and made pancakes or waffles, maybe some bacons and eggs, depending on what they felt like.

Dean had learned both the Hardy boys had roles in the house as well and Sam had split some of Joe's (including laundry) and Frank's to make it more even. All in all, in such a short time the boys had integrated well with the Hardy's lifestyle, and so far, no one had found anything annoying about it.

Except the fact that he and Joe had intentionally used the hot water (after Fenton and Laura, they weren't _that_ dumb) so when Frank and Sam went to shower, the water was ice cold. That and the fact they flushed the toilet mid-shower for each boy didn't help.

Breakfast passed in the usual blur of plate passing and dishwashing and soon everyone found themselves with free time. The boys had decided to split up the practice and training now the basics had been covered, leaving everyone with more free time.

**XxXxXxX**

Just before lunch, the rumble of a truck could be heard outside the house, followed by the rumbling of more vehicles. Dean recognized it immediately. "Dad" he greeted as John Winchester stepped out of the cab of the shining black truck, "Didn't think you'd get here so soon"

"Son" John greeted, patting Dean roughly on the back, "Where's Sam?"

"Inside. He and Joe are going over some "stuff"" Dean said, rolling his eyes.

John grinned, "oh" he said. He knew well Deans disregard for anything scholarly since he'd graduated and knew the look Dean got whenever Sammy went into "geek mode" as Dean put it. "That bad huh?"

Dean grinned, nodding.

Caleb and Bobby had come up behind John but stepped forward to greet the younger Winchester.

"Boy" Bobby greeted gruffly as he grabbed Dean in a rough, one-armed hug. "Heard you had a tangle with _vampires_" the grizzled hunter asked.

"Yeah. I thought they didn't exist?" Dean asked. The hunters had always thought them extinct, but the "people" Dean and Fenton had encountered matched the description of vampires.

"Give it to Dean to come up with a non-existent extinct enemy" Caleb laughed as he grasped the younger man's forearm brother-in-arms style.

"Shut up Caleb" Dean greeted with a grin. "You were the one who got kidnapped by pixies last fall, if I remember correctly. The pixies you _insisted_ did _not_ exist, he added, smirking.

"Yeah, yeah, rub it in, rub it in" Caleb returned. "Heard you got to play teacher?" Caleb asked.

"Yeah"

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

While Dean and Caleb were talking, Fenton and John introduced each other.

"Fenton Hardy" Fenton said, extending his hand.

"John Winchester" John greeted, grasping the other man's proffered hand. "Gotta thank you for letting my boys stay with you" he added.

"Not a problem, Dean saved mine and Joe, my youngest, butts" the other day," Fenton said with a wry grin.

John smiled back. "Dean told me we were working the same case. Bet you never expected this, huh?" John asked.

He was taking the opportunity to size the other man up. He'd had a firm handshake, always a good sign, looked tough enough. Dean had said he was a good man and John knew Dean almost always had good judgment (except in the case of beautiful women, where his downstairs brain was almost always the _only_ one in gear) and trusted his boy to make good choices. _He seems good_, John thought.

Fenton chuckled. He'd noticed John's rough hands, firm shake and steady, cool composure. _No wonder Dean's so well trained and calm_, Fenton thought to himself, _this guy's one tough fella_.

Fenton wasn't entirely sure what sort of man he'd been expecting. Someone, _harsher_, maybe? But John Winchester seemed like a good man, who'd raised good boys, albeit in a rough world. _But isn't that what I've done, letting Joe and Frank help me out, even take on their own work?_ He thought.

"Yeah, can't say "vampires" were at the top of my suspect list" he admitted with a grin.

The two men held a brief discussion before a round of introductions were made between the new hunters and the Hardy family.

**XxXxXxXxX**

After introductions were made, the large group made their way back inside where everyone pitched in (except the three new-comers, whom Laura insisted sit down) to get lunch ready.

Conversation flowed over the table laden with food as the Hardy's and the hunter's and Winchesters discussed the case. Fenton expressed interest in helping out and learning more about hunting and John agreed he could help, on the condition he was deemed good enough by the three hunters.

Fenton accepted the terms, knowing the condition wasn't as derisive as it might sound, but simply a safety precaution. Rookies always led to more stuff-ups than most other problems you could encounter on a case, something he'd learned the hard way as a police officer, having made a share of his own mistakes as a rookie beat cop.

**SNHBSNHBSNHBSNHBSNHBSN **

"Good, good" John praise as he watched the Hardy's move through and recite what Dean and Sam had managed to teach them in the time they had.

Turning to his sons who were standing dutifully beside him, he congratulated them on their work.

"You boys did good. Helps that Fenton and his boys are smart as well, but good job. You taught them the ritual segment for exorcisms Sammy?" he asked, eyeing his youngest.

Sam shuffled slightly on his feet. "Yes sir" he answered, surprised and a tad embarrassed (after all he's sixteen, if only Dad and Dean would remember that) when John reached out and ruffled his hair.

"Good job, son" John said, giving Sam and Dean a wide grin.

"You too, Dean, I recognize those moves" John added and Dean grinned back at their father.

"Thanks" the boys echoed simultaneously, both pleased with their father's sign of approval.

It wasn't that John didn't praise his boys, but when he did it was always because they deserved it, never empty like a lot of token fathers, which made the boys feel all the happier.

Fenton chose that moment to walk up to the Winchesters, directing his question at John who'd turned to greet him.

"So, you said you'd figured out who's at the top of this thing?" Fenton asked, noting the pleased looks on all three faces.

However, given the brief talk he and John had had privately, he knew the happy faces on both his and John's sons would not be lasting.

"Yeah" John affirmed.

He, Bobby and Caleb had tracked down every lead until they had firm proof of exactly who, or rather what, they were dealing with.

His gaze went from Fenton to Frank and Joe who were standing with Caleb and Bobby, receiving tips from the hunters.

"But we should get everyone together first. You all need to know what we're dealing with" John said to Fenton.

The eldest Hardy nodded in acknowledgement, "Right. I'll muster up the boys. How about we head on inside?" he suggested.

John nodded and Dean, Sam and he headed into the house while Fenton gathered the rest of their unlikely team.

_**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx **_

Once seated comfortably in the sitting room again, John signalled to Caleb to tell the others exactly what they'd found out, the younger hunter wasting no time in revealing their findings.

_**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx **_

"... so that's why I think you three should stay here" John said as he looked at Frank, Joe and Sam.

Fenton nodded in agreement but anything he had to say was washed out by furious protests.

"What? Dad no!" (Sam)

"Dad seriously, you're saying we can't go?" (Frank)

"What about all the training we've done? This sucks out loud." (Joe)

Both John and Fenton recited "Sorry son", not that it did any good.

"Dad, what if I looked out for them?" Dean suggested, receiving offended looks of varying degrees from Sam, Joe and Frank. "I could-"

"No, Dean" John stated firmly.

"I'm barely agreeing for you and Fenton to come. I know you've done a good job training Joe and Frank, and I know Sam's good but it's just not safe to take them and I can't afford for you to be off your game because you're worrying about those three" John said, hand up to stay any arguments.

Dean looked as though he was going to continue the argument further but he dropped his offensive stance he'd subconsciously taken and accepted his father's judgment.

He could see the logic behind it but he knew that Sam and the other boys wanted to come, it was their case too and being shoved out of the circle was never a good feeling.

"Yes sir" he acknowledged.

Three fuming faces glared at the rest of the room in turn before rising as one and stalking out of the room.

Collectively Fenton and the remaining hunters let out a tense breath none of them had realized they were holding.

"That went well," John said sarcastically, receiving a rueful nod and smile from Fenton and a slight grimace from Bobby.

"No? You think?" Dean asked sardonically. "I mean, you did just tell them they couldn't finish their job. You may as well have told them they were too incompetent to do it."

While the older brother wouldn't often disobey John in front of Sam, he had no problem defending his little brother when he wasn't there to see it and the way they'd just been dismissed had riled Dean.

Joe and Frank had become good friends with not just Sammy but Dean also and he knew they took themselves seriously with their work. Plus, he'd spent the time training them for this.

"Well it went better than I thought it would" Caleb commented.

Dean turned to his friend. "You knew? You knew about this and didn't tell me?" he demanded.

He felt bad he hadn't been able to help Sam and the others and finding out Caleb knew about it beforehand was just icing on the proverbial cake.

"Well, yeah. But what's the big deal?" the hunter asked, already knowing the answer and earning a disbelieving glance from both Dean and Bobby, who had remained mostly silent throughout the talks.

"I could've done something before this!" Dean fumed.

"Dean"

The quiet word came from John, still seated across from his son, now the lone occupant of the couch.

"What?" Dean asked, tone almost but not quite sullen.

"We have a job to do"

And with those six words, Dean sank back down to the couch, nodding in acceptance. He couldn't do anything now for the others, but as soon as the hunt was finished he'd find a way.

Maybe he could find a salt'n'burn to let the boys handle for their first job, and get Sam to show them the ropes. Yeah, Dean thought, that'd boost Sammy up for sure, being in charge of his own hunt.

With that settled in his mind, Dean nodded again, adding, "Yes sir"

"Good boy" John said, "Let's get to work then." he said, rising from his seat with the others.

"So when are we leaving?" Dean asked.

"Now, but we're not going to the hunt straight away. There's more equipment and info at the motel rooms we've got just the other side of town" John said.

"Right. Well, I'm gonna go talk to Sammy and the others, tell "em we're going" Dean said, getting up.

"Be ready to leave in fifteen" John called after him.

When he was sure Dean was too far away to hear him, he turned to Bobby, asking, "You reckon Sammy hates me now?"

At the small voiced question coming from his long-time friend, Bobby gave a rough guffaw.

"Hell John, what do you think?"

"You're right" John sighed, "I'm so screwed when we get back."

_**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx **_

Upstairs... Frank's (and, currently, Joe's) room.

"Well, we kinda knew they'd do that" Frank reasoned as he sat with Joe and Sam on his and Joe's bed upstairs.

"Plan B then?" Joe asked.

The two boys nodded at Joe.

"Yeah" Sam agreed, "Plan B"

"Right then. Better call Chet" Frank sad, grabbing his mobile from its position on his desk.

They'd suspected when they'd done some more research and overheard the older hunters discussing the case that they'd be left out and had developed their own contingency plan if they were proved right.

"You got everything?" Sam asked Joe, who nodded.

"Yeah, lucky Dean told Mom and dad we need to get our own supplies for the house and stuff. They never noticed the extras we bought" Joe said as he pulled three satchels out from under one of the beds.

"Holy water, stakes, silver, salt, iron and steel" Sam listed out approvingly as he rummaged through one of the bags, noting the equipment inside.

It was very similar to the usual hunting kits he, Dean and John, hell, most hunters, carried on a hunt.

At that moment Frank got off the cell with a "Yeah, thanks, Chet" and turned to the other boys.

"We ready?" he asked.

"Yeah, let's do this" the two younger boys affirmed.

"Great" Frank said. "Chet's gonna be here in about two hours, before dark"

XXXXXX

Dean walked slowly up the stairs, trying to think of what to say to Sam, Joe and Frank. Reaching the room he knew the boys were in, he knocked hesitantly before opening the door. The three boys were seated on the Same bed, Sam and Joe next to each other, Frank at the end.

"Hey guys" he said quietly. "Look, about the hunt, I-"

"I know you tried, Dean" Sam said, interrupting his brother's guilty apology, earning a nod from both Frank and Joe.

"Yeah, not your fault they won't listen" Frank added.

Dean still looked unsure. He felt bad about the boys being left out, but remembered his decision.

"Look, I know it might not be as good, but how about when we get back from this, you guys can take on your own hunt?" Dean offered. "You can find a salt'n'burn, huh? Sam'd be in charge, Y'know, hunter seniority, but it'd be your own first hunt" he said warmly.

All three boys got odd looks on their faces at that, and Dean assumed it was because they thought the idea was lame. "You don't have to I just-"

Sam spoke up again. "That'd be cool, Dean" the youngest Winchester said quietly. "You guys going now?" he asked, trying to divert the conversation away.

Dean shuffled uneasily on his feet before answering. "Yeah, Dad, Bobby and Caleb have more info and stuff back at their motel rooms so we're going over there first, then later we'll go to the hunt."

"You'll come back here though, right?" Sam asked as Dean turned to leave.

"You betcha Sammy" Dean answered, a grin finally gracing his face. "Mrs. Hardy won't have it any other way. I'll see you when I get back, okay little brother?"

"Yeah, okay Dean."

"See you guys" Dean said with a final wave at the three boys, "And don't do anything I wouldn't do."

_**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx **_

Sam flopped backwards onto the bed the Same time as Joe and Frank let out twin sighs of relief.

"Man I was so sure he'd see something was up" Joe blurted out as soon as they could no longer hear Dean's footsteps on the stairs.

Sam sighed, feeling guilty about lying to his brother, but not enough to back down from their plan. "Yeah, but trust his guilt to hamper his in-built lie-detector."

"You think he was serious about letting us have our own hunt?" Frank asked, eyeing the two boys.

"Yeah, probably" Sam admitted, "He doesn't just say stuff like that for no reason. He really does feel bad we can't come, so he's trying to make it up to us," he said miserably.

"You reckon the offer will still stand after tonight?" Joe asked hopefully.

"What do you think?" Frank scoffed.

"You're right," Joe conceded, "We're doomed."

_**xXxXxXxXxXxXx **_

"Ready son?" John asked as Dean came up to Fenton and the other hunters after his visit with Sam. He'd noticed Sammy was giving him odd looks and figured it must have been because he thought he didn't try hard enough to include on the hunt.

He should know that once Dad makes up his mind he hardly ever backs down though, Dean thought, and he'd never step back on this decision. I kinda agree with him, Sammy and the others are safer here. Plus, if Joe and Frank are going to hunt, their first one shouldn't be like this, the young hunter thought.

"Yeah. I'll follow behind you to the motel," Dean answered, climbing into the Impala as his father patted the hood before walking back to his truck. Caleb climbed in beside the younger hunter, taking the coveted shotgun seat next to Dean in the Impala.

"Hey kid" the older hunter greeted as he settled in beside him, "You talk to Sam?"

Dean nodded, "First of all, shut up. I'm not that much younger than you and yeah, I talked to Sammy. Kid wasn't happy, none of "em were."

"I can imagine." Caleb well knew Sam's usual puppy-dog tactics that worked wonders on the hardest of hunters like Bobby Singer, and that his big brother would do anything for him if he could.

_**xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx **_

The small convoy of vehicles pulled into the edge - of - town motel one after another, pulling up next to each other in the dusty parking lot out the front of the rooms.

The men piled out of their respective vehicles - Fenton had taken Caleb's place in John's truck for the drive and filed their way into the main room John had rented before said hunter shut, locked and re-salted the door.

"So what's up with the hunt that you couldn't tell us at the house?" Dean asked as soon as everyone was seated.

He hadn't missed the way his father, Bobby and Caleb had all skirted around some parts of the information they'd turned up and wanted to know what they'd been holding back.

"This hunt isn't like the usual ones we handle, Dean," John started.

"I got that, I mean, vampires?"

"We don't think they're real vampires, Dean" Bobby interjected. At this both Fenton and Dean practically started out of their seats.

"What, so big teeth and an unhealthy iron addiction don't make for vamps? What they hell are they then?" Dean demanded, ""Coz I know I didn't hallucinate the whole scene at that warehouse."

"People," John half-muttered.

Fenton and Dean slowly focused on John and the others with blanched faces.

"Come again?" Dean asked slowly, ""Coz I swear Dad you just said they were people."

Caleb watched Dean carefully, realizing the way John was saying things was making things worse for Dean.

Now Dean was thinking he'd killed people.

"Not people per se, Dean, but not vampires either," Bobby said.

Dean went from shocked-pale to anger-pale in a heartbeat. "You wanna tell me what the hell, exactly, we are facing?"

"I'm with him" Fenton said heatedly.

"They're long-term demonic hosts of sorts, "Bobby said, taking on his lecture tone. "Many older cultures had rituals and cults that worshipped demons, or aspects of demons. They committed sacrifices to gain what they saw as "super-human" abilities- strength, intelligence, that kind of thing."

"So they're voluntarily being possessed, is that it?" Dean asked.

"Not quite. They literally become part-demon, no longer human, but not true demons either."

"And the missing victims? There weren't any correlations to string them together. Don't rituals normally require sacrifices with commonalities?"

"They do. We just didn't know where to look until we discovered other pieces of the puzzle." Bobby admitted. At Dean's look he hastily continued.

"They fit with the timing of moon and zodiac phases. Each of the victims was taken 6 days prior to a change in the moon's phase, five victims each zodiac from what we can figure."

"Blood sacrifices, demonic rituals. And I thought vampires were bad enough." Fenton muttered.

"Tonight's the Blue Moon" Dean said quietly.

"Yes, and the last part of the ritual." Bobby affirmed.

"What are they doing tonight?" Dean asked, a sense of foreboding settling in the pit of his stomach.

"They require the blood of youthful innocence" Bobby confessed.

Realization dawned on Dean, "That's why you didn't want Sammy, Joe and Frank along" he surmised.

"Yeah. And it's a good thing those boys decided to go along with our decision, too. Laura said they planned to stay at Chet's for the night" Fenton commented.

"At least they're out of danger then" Bobby added, relief evident on his face.

Suddenly Dean didn't feel so bad about Sammy and the others missing out on the hunt. At least they'll be safe, he thought to himself.

"So does an exorcism work on these guys?" Dean asked, mind firmly back on the hunt.

Bobby shook his head, "Not the way they've done it. If it was more specific maybe but the type of ritual, joined with the blood sacrifices binds them. They aren't creatures of hell so much as evil bastards on earth."

"You can't send something back to somewhere it's never been" Caleb confirmed. He'd been the one to realize the zodiac pattern, helping Bobby piece together what exactly it was they were hunting.

"So how come no one's caught them before?" Dean asked, "I mean, wouldn't the cops notice a bunch of people going missing?"

"Not if they moved around, they wouldn't" Bobby stated, "From what we know, every seven years these guys have to renew their ritual to maintain power. Caleb was able to track them back the last three cycles, that's how we realized exactly what they were doing. The books of Solomon speak of binding devils for different reasons, using their power."

"So, they're real, live devils, then?" Fenton asked, trying to get his head around the fact that evil could look just like anybody else.

"Basically" Bobby agreed, "There's nothing to exorcise, so Latin just won't cut it," he turned to Dean then, "You said your consecrated silver bullets did the trick?"

Dean nodded, "Yeah, they dropped after I shot "em. But how come they matched the M.O of a vampire? Mean, we know they aren't now but I don't see how blood-sucking is really a quality you'd ask for."

"Bobby thinks the longer they've been doing this ritual the more demonic their appearance would be" John stated.

"So there could be some fugly old dude running around with red eyes, long teeth and bat wings?" Dean asked incredulously.

"Eloquent, Dean," Caleb commented, "Not exactly but your primitive intellect gets the gist at least" he said with a smirk.

"Primitive intellect? Dude I'm not the one who managed to get kidnapped by pixies. I mean, dude, creatures out of fairy tales? Come on, how lame ass is that?" Dean scoffed at his friend.

Caleb looked insulted. "You're never gonna let me live that down, are you?" he asked, shaking his head.

"No, pixie-piper, I'm not"

"Idiot"

"Fairy lover"

"Boys!" John's commanding voice made both hunters jump. "Thank you, now if you're finished with your childish bickering can we get back to the hunt?"

The younger hunters looked sheepishly at the eldest Winchester, "yes sir's" quietly emitting form the pair as they returned their attention to the current predicament.


	4. Chapter 4

WHAT BROTHERS DO

WHAT BROTHERS DO

A Hardy Boys/Supernatural Crossover

By _marasmorgue_

CHAPTER FOUR

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Chet Morton was a long time friend of the Hardy brothers.

He'd been around when they first started taking on cases and had even been involved in a couple. But it never stopped him worrying over his friends.

And now three of them were going into danger, something, he thought grimly, he knew a little too much about for his liking.

His sister, Iola, Joe's girlfriend, had been killed by a terrorist bomb planted in the Hardy's car.

Needless to say, he took the brothers seriously, and was always willing to help them out when they asked.  
Which led them to where they were now.

Almost two miles off from the abandoned warehouse they'd visited previously, in basically the Same place he'd dropped them last time.

"You guys got everything?" he asked as the trio filed out of the vehicle.

"Yeah" Frank answered, reaching his hand through the driver's window to grip Chet's own. "We're good."

"Just make sure you stay that way," Chet cautioned as he gripped each of the boys" hands in turn. "And don't forget, you guys call if you need anything."

"We will" Joe assured, and gaining nods from the others, Chet nodded back, gunning the engine once more.

"See you fellas later" he said as he slowly pulled back onto the road.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

"Well, you guys ready to get started?" Joe asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he looked at his brother and Sam.

He was so excited.

The boys, under the pretence of watching movies and hanging out upstairs had done their own research on the hunt.

As Sam had explained to the brothers, they hadn't figured there were any vampires in the U.S, if there were any even still in existence, so they didn't have much ready information on them.

Frank and Sam had dived headfirst into research-mode, Joe even joining in for once. Normally he left the whole formulating a plan thing to Frank. He was more inclined to dive right in, guns blazing.

They'd found out what they could on vampire lore, discarding the more ridiculous theories and sticking to the most recurring ones, packing the basics they thought would be most useful.

Their plan was to arrive early to the warehouse, infiltrate it and wait for the vampires to come to them.

Simple, but effective.

And a hell of a lot easier than "chasing the mad blood suckers around", as Joe had said.

"Ready" Frank and Sam said concurrently.

"It's Showtime" Joe added as they made their way down the embankment, starting their trek to the warehouse.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

The boys steadily made their way towards the warehouse, only pausing once to reaffirm their plans and check their gear.

Making their way towards the entrance Dean had used previously on two occasions now, the boys got into single-file formation, Sam taking point, Frank center and Joe rear guard.

"Ready?" Sam whispered back as he was about to enter the warehouse.

"Yeah" the brothers whispered back, tense with excitement.

This felt somehow more intense than any of their cases had before.

Readying himself as he had seen Dean and his father do countless times before on hunts, Sam straightened his shoulders, and cast his eyes around for one more circuit before bracing one hand against the door itself, the other against the knob and slowly but firmly cast the door open.

Quickly but quietly the three boys entered the warehouse and pulled the door almost shut behind them.

Stalking forwards once more in an arrowhead formation, the boys made their way almost identically to Dean's first entrance into the abandoned building.

Suddenly though, Sam's senses tingled with unease.

Tensing, he risked a glance back at his companions.

They were gone.

Unnerved at his friend's silent disappearances, Sam whirled around, only to come face to face with solid wall of muscle.

"Well well well" rumbled the large form that now had a vicious grip on Sam's shoulders, "I didn't know we had a delivery coming" the bear-like man said, his voice not unlike the thunderous rumbling made from an underground explosion.

Sam's wide eyes were gliding upwards towards the man's face when he felt a sharp pain in his arm. Looking toward the site of the discomfort, he noted a needle, not unlike the tranquilliser darts used on animals.

He turned his gaze back up to the bear-man's face, finding vicious, almost black eyes glaring menacingly down at him.

They were the last thing he saw before his world turned dark and he slumped boneless into his captor's grasp.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Back at the Motel...

Cleaning his third handgun since arriving at the motel earlier, a thought suddenly came to Dean.

"Hey, Dad?" he called to John who was seated on the opposite side of the table, cleaning his own weapons.

"Yes, son?" he asked, eyes not rising from his task.

"That vamp- that dude, he said he knew you?" Dean said, half-statement, half question.

At that, John did look up. "What? Why didn't you say so before? What did he look like?" came the rapid barrage of questions.

"I only just remembered. He was all slick looking, his eyes were this icy blue but they were weird. They had this dark ring around them. "Part from that he looked pretty normal, usual creep, dark hair, slicked back, dark clothes, no other really remarkable features, just... his eyes." Dean said, trying to recall any more relevant details about the creep.

John stilled. No, it couldn't be. Could it?

Bobby turned to John. "Is it just me or does that sound really familiar to you?" he asked with darkened eyes.

John sighed angrily. "Not just you. Damnit all."

Caleb looked from one man to the other, glancing at Dean. "You fellas mind telling us what's going on?"

Bobby and John exchanged glances.

"Let's just say that the fella Dean just described ain't exactly friends with Dean's daddy an" me" Bobby said, his tone making it abundantly clear that was the end of questioning.

"So we gonna go kick some demon-people's ass now or stay sittin' round here like some old lady's knitting club?" Caleb asked. He wasn't sure why John and Bobby were keeping them in the dark but he figured there was a good reason for it. They wouldn't put them in unnecessary danger, after all.

At that Bobby chuckled and slapped the boys on the back. "Come on then, get your skinny asses out to the truck"

"Wait, why can't we take the Impala?" Dean asked. He didn't like the idea of leaving his baby all alone. "I mean, she has all the weaponry in her trunk" he added, trying to find a logical argument.

John grinned. Ever since he'd given the boy the car he'd gone everywhere in her. "Oh and my truck has nothing? C'mon Dean just get in the damn truck. The Impala's safe enough here. Plus, you wouldn't want any stray rounds to end up in her hide now would ya?"

Caleb laughed at the look on Dean's face. "Dude, you so need a real woman"

"Shut up Caleb. At least the women I get are alive, unlike your last love fest. Plus my baby is a real woman."

"Oh hell, you drop the pixies for that gig? That wasn't even my fault!" the older hunter protested as they piled into the car.

"Dude you practically squealed like a girl and ran out the door!" Dean laughed.

"She was a ghost! And she was groping me!"

"Ahh, you forget, she was an old lady ghost! And don't pretend you didn't like it!"

"Dean, you are so wrong in the head. That's sick."

"Hey, don't diss me because of your animal magnetism, you hound dog you."

Bobby twisted round in his seat. "Can it, you two, we're almost there."

"Yes sir."

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

_**--Joe--**_

I woke up with a headache that felt like a railroad spike piercing right through my skull.

For a minute I'd thought I'd been blinded- I couldn't see a thing- but then I realized it wasn't completely dark. I could make out outlines of objects, that kind of thing. Where was I?

Thinking about it, it was probably good there weren't any bright lights- they probably would have made my head implode.

I continued to try and survey the room, or where ever I was, going over in my head how I could get out of this mess.

Hmm... I had a Swiss army knife in my back pocket, but I couldn't reach it. I couldn't reach anything.

I tried to get up but couldn't. My hands were tied behind my back and my feet were bound, and I was fastened to something... couldn't figure out what.

Then I became aware of a noise... something...someone! I could hear breathing! Well, snoring, anyhow. Snoring I'd had to live with forever.

"Frank!" I whispered. "Wake up man!"

"Frank!" I tried again more fiercely.

"Whagumphr?" came the mumbled reply. Yes, that's Frank all right. Eloquent as ever.

"Dude! Wake up you idiot!"

"Hmm Whazzt?" God, this mumbling routine was getting old. I didn't know how deep we were but being tied up is never a good sign in my books and I needed Frank on board. Come to think of it, where's Sam?

"The hunt! Frank! Blood sucking vampires! Our imminent doom if you don't wake your butt up!"

"Okay, okay, I'm okay, yeah, okay...right, okay."

Like saying okay that many times ever actually meant you were okay- but at least he was awake now.

"Notice anything bro?" I asked.

"My head!"

"You and me both. Man, whoever whacked us got us good."

"Hey! My hands..."

"Exactly. Now who's the one who always get tied up?" Okay so maybe I didn't need to add that but who could blame me for a bad mood? I mean here we were, tied up, in the dark, with no clue what was going on. One thing's for sure. It was way past time to get outta here.

"You think you can get it together enough to wriggle over a bit and grab my knife outta my back pocket?" I ask irritably.

"This is pretty embarrassing. Did you have to go get jumped?" muttered as Frank tried to scrimmage into my pocket.

"Hey, I was trying to get you, bro" he muttered back at me.

"Oh, right, this is all my fault."

"Well, if the shoe fits..."

"Great, our first hunt's turning upside down. Just shut up and cut me loose, okay?" I said, really getting annoyed- but it was me I really could have kicked. How could I have let myself get ambushed like a total amateur?

"Ow! Hey! Watch it! That's my hand you're slicing dude!"

"Sorry bro, I'm doing my best. It isn't exactly easy trying to cut through rope or whatever in the dark with my own hands tied"

"Well do better!"

"Man, did you ever wake up on the wrong side of the bed!"

I wriggled some more as Frank was finishing slicing the rope binding my hands. "It"s more that fact I woke up hog tied in a dark, weird smelling place and not on a bed at all that gets me." I say, rubbing my hands before I untied my ankles and freed Frank.

"So, what do you say to getting outta here?" I ask as we turn on our mini penlights, making out our surroundings.

"Couldn't think of a better idea," Frank says as we walk towards the door. Yep, escaping definitely makes for a better mood for everyone.

"You reckon they have guards outside?" I whisper as we step up to the door. I notice the light filtering through underneath but I can't spot any telltale shadows indicating a guard stationed outside.

"They'd have come in and checked us if they did, all the noise you made" Frank whispered back.

"Excuse me? All the noise I made? I wasn't the one who was snoring!" Okay, so maybe my bad mood hadn't left entirely.

"How about we just try to get out of here?" Frank whispered back, bringing me back down. "We still have to find Sam" he reminded me.

"Right" I agreed, "Why do you think he wasn't put with us? You don't think-"

"That they decided to have an early snack and we're meant for supper? I hope not. Maybe they didn't get the jump on him" he said hopefully.

For all Frank's optimism, I somehow doubted that. They'd managed to get the jump on both of us, and in that department at least, neither of us were rookies, so I could only assume they had more sinister plans for Sam. _Maybe for all of us._

Suddenly I was hoping Sam and Dean's dad and his friends and Dad arrived early. Maybe coming on this hunt wasn't such a bright idea like we thought.

By that time Frank had finished scrubbing the lock open (which was thankfully an older model so it didn't take as long as those new ones to pick) and we stepped out into the still dim but somewhat brighter hallway. _That familiar hallway._

"Does this scream deja vu to you?" Frank whispers to me as we cast wary eyes about, looking for our lovely hosts.

"It's the Same hallway we were in when whoever it was jumped us" he whispered back.

"Bingo" I said quietly. Indicating the way we were headed before our little rest in the over-sized locker, I asked, "Shall we go get back our friend?"

Frank looked from the hallway ahead to me, back to the hallway then me again.

"I don't know Joe. Maybe we'd be better off getting help? We still have our cell phones stashed outside. We could call dad and Mr. Winchester and the others. If we go barging in we'd probably only end up in more trouble. We could get Sam hurt," he said.

That got me thinking. I could tell part of Frank's reasoning was guilt he was feeling for whatever trouble Sam was now in. But he did make sense I had to admit. It wouldn't do anyone any good if they others ended up having to rescue all three of us because we ran in guns blazing, so to speak.

Then I had an idea. "Okay, so we split up"

Frank started at that, "What? Joe! No! Didn't you hear anything I just said?" he whispered indignantly. If we hung around like this any longer we were sure to be caught.

"I did Frank but listen to me for a minute ok? You can go outside, grab the packs and the phones. Call Dad, Dean, John, Caleb and Bobby- if you can't get one on line, try everyone. We need help but I can't just leave without seeing Sam. He's our friend and it's our fault he's in this mess! If we weren't so up about hunting he probably would've listened more to John and we'd all really be safe at Chet's! I'll sneak up, check things out and meet you outside in the copse where our packs are in fifteen. You call the others. If I can get back out we'll have more info for them and a better chance at helping!"

I could almost see Frank's mind turning over my idea, trying to find something to argue about. He never liked splitting up much- always claimed that's why I got kidnapped and tied to chair so often (not that it really happened so much!) but he also knew the more Intel you had going in the better. After all, wasn't that the whole reason we spent half the nights researching?

Sighing, Frank conceded defeat. "Okay Joe- but if you're not out in fifteen I'm bringing in the whole state's troopers if I have to- and kicking your butt from here to Dallas!"

I grinned at Frank. "Okay bro, see you soon" and with that, we separated.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Sam woke up with a head that felt as though it was full of cotton wadding _and_ playing host to the Bongo championship titles at the same time. He felt…. _Weird_.

Where was Dean? _Where am I?_ Sam thought groggily, trying to focus.

Okay… arms and legs tied… _not good_.

Joe! Frank! Where were they? Last he could remember they were there behind him and then they weren't.. Were they okay?

This hunt was _so_ not turning out as planned. What was it Dean always said? Winchester luck? That'd be about right.

"Damn" Sam thinks as he tries to take stock of his situation. He sensed movement to his left and suddenly a voice, seemingly disembodied because of the blindfold covering his eyes echoes.

"You're awake, Samuel?" the voice says and all Sam can think is it sounds like honey gone bad… like it should sound good but sounds wrong, evil, not natural.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

_**Sam**_

I groan lightly as I try to raise my head, but it feels so heavy. What the hell did they do to me? I can't move properly and it's hard to think straight. I wish Dean were here. I hope the other guys are okay. We so shouldn't have done this.

I just know if I get outta this Dad's gonna rip me a new one like I wouldn't believe…. Then Dean will take his turn. Then maybe even Bobby and Caleb. Then Mr. And Mrs. Hardy for taking their boys out here, right into a dangerous situation. Yup, I'm not gonna be seeing any fun any time soon if I get out of here.

No, not if, when. I'm sure Dean will come, Dad and the others too. All I have to do now is buy enough time for them to come save mine and Frank and Joe's asses. The ones I put in danger.

Right. First things first.

"Who are you?" I say, though my voice is rough from whatever they gave me.

I hear that rich, evil voice break into soft laughter, the sound dancing around me deviously until I can't tell where it comes from.

"I'm shocked you don't know Sammy, dear boy," The voice purrs sickeningly.

"Don't call me Sammy" I grind out. I know I shouldn't piss people who could and probably are going to try to kill me but it seems to work for Dean and no one except family gets to call me Sammy.

"Oh come now, can't we be friends? After all, I am the last person you'll ever speak to in this life, wouldn't you rather it be pleasant while it lasts?"

My mind turns over what the voice just said. I can't believe it. I won't. Crap, Dean, where are you?

"You still haven't answered my question," I say, putting bravado into my voice I really don't feel. I need more info. Dean always knocks me for being a geek but like he works with people and action, I work with information, knowledge. "Who are you? What do you want? What are you doing?"

The voice laughs again, making my already churning stomach toss.

"Don't you know? I really am surprised your Daddy dearest never spoke about me to his boys. My name is Loui Saren. Or at least it was. Is. And I want you, dear boy. I want you."

I shudder as the man with the silken, sickening voice speaks, his soft tones reaching my ears, stagnant breath washing over me in nauseating waves. He's so close.

"Why me?" I ask. From all I'd read on vampires the last few days, I couldn't remember reading anything about wanting specific people. Sure it mentioned that vampires might choose partners and "family members" they liked to turn but why me?

"Because you are so sweet and innocent. Your hands have not spilt any blood"

"You're wrong there," I say, thinking over the hunts I'd been on with Dad and Dean. "I have spilt blood"

The man chuckles. "Oh of course, how could I forget? The big, brave hunters. The Winchester family. But you've not spilt the blood of an innocent before, boy, only the …. Less pure. I want your innocence. I need it"

Okay, freaky ass much? I mean, what the hell? He wants my innocence?

"Why would a vampire need my innocence?" I choke out. Whatever they gave me is certainly not helping with me not freaking out from this guy's words. The silent chant "c'mon Dean" runs continuously through my head like a reassuring mantra.

The laugh comes back, slick, oily, almost palpable.

"Oh dear" he chuckles and a hand slides onto my shoulder momentarily, like an eel coming to the surface of a deep pool of water for a moment before returning to the depths. "You think we're vampires?" the voice mocks. "How wrong you are"

What? Not vampires? Oh, crap. Crap crap crap. Now what the hell am I gonna do? I need to know what they've done with Frank and Joe.

"Where are my friends?" I ask, trying to put confidence and strength into my voice. I'm not sure it worked so well.

"Those two little impudent fools you came with? They're…. Occupied for now. We don't need them like we need you"

_Crap_

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

_**Frank**_

I sneak along the wall, sticking as close to the shadows as possible, keeping an eye out for anyone… anything that might try to stop me. Suddenly this hunting doesn't seem such a great idea.

Finally I make it outside with no incident (probably due to all those years Joe and I have been sneaking around…) and keep to the shadows, heading for the copse, our packs and the all-important phones. I only hope Joe, Sam and me will be in one piece to be save when the cavalry gets here.

I reach the packs and line myself up against a thick old tree. Pretty sure I can't be seen or heard from here, I dial.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Joe

I sneak along the opposite direction Frank took, a sense of foreboding in my gut. And my gut's never far wrong. We shouldn't have split up. Really, we shouldn't have come here. Hindsight really is twenty-twenty, huh?

This reminds me of the time Frank and I went skydiving- and the parachutes were tampered with. _At least we came out of that one unscathed_, I think. Here's hoping we can pull off another of our miracles.

I reach a more open room type thing, with more light and peer from the shadows. I hear voices and, concentrating, I can just make them out. Yes! Sam's one of them!

I make out his figure, tied down to a chair of some sort, totally bound- no chance of a hit and run escape then. Definitely a cavalry job then. I memorize as much as I can before slinking back, it's almost time for me to hike it to Frank. I sure hope he's managed to get onto the others. From what I could see we're gonna need all the help we can get.

Xxxxxxxx

_**Dean**_

I'm sitting down near the others as we finish up preparation and I'm thinking of calling Sammy- just to make sure he's having fun with the guys, "cause I feel kinda guilty still, even though I'm so glad he's not coming, when my cell phone rings.

"Yeah?" I answer.

-Dean? Oh thank god, -

"Frank?!" I half shout, my mind a flurry of panic. He could only be calling if something was wrong. I thought they'd be safe at Chet's.

"What's wrong? Is Sammy okay? What happened? I can come get you from Chet's if you need-"

-Uh, well, we're not at Chet's-

Hospital? Oh please don't say hospital.

"Where the hell are you then?"

By now, the others have noticed and stepped closer, Caleb almost directly in front of me, concern on his face.

-We're uhm, we're at the warehouse-

"WHAT?" I bellow. Oh hell. Crap. Shit on a stick.

At my outburst, I vaguely notice everyone jumps a little.

"What the hell?! What are you doing there? You're supposed to be at Chet's Are you guys okay? Is anyone hurt?" Question after question follow my thoughts, scenarios running through my head. This is so not good.

-Joe and I managed to get free; they knocked us out pretty good. The vampires must have had Sam in a different room, Joe's checking before e he meets me here. Dean I'm sorry, I really sorry, I should've looked after-

It's real obvious I'm not exactly totally rational and Caleb must've seen that I wasn't gonna calm down anytime soon because he pries the phone from my hands and starts speaking calmly, quietly.

I feel hands on my shoulders and almost push them off before I realize it's Bobby turnin' me around.

"Dean?" he asks quietly, eyes flickering in concern, a look mirrored by Dad and Fenton as I try to get control back.

Taking a deep breath, I release "They went to the warehouse" I say through tightly clenched teeth.

That sends the three of them from naught to pissed in zero flat. Thankfully we're all saved from a huge outburst by Caleb who finishes the call with a "we'll be there as soon as we can" before he turns to us, grim faced.

"We gotta hurry, fellas, those damn things have Sam, maybe Joe."

"Then what the hell are we waiting for?" Dad bursts out stiffly. "Move out"

Oh yeah, you know things are serious when "John Winchester, U.S. Marine" comes out to play. Grim faced we nod, grabbing our arsenal and heading for the door.

This hunt just got a hell of a lot more personal. And that meant for the bad guys, a hell of a lot more dangerous.

_You just don't mess with friends and family._

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

"Dean, Caleb, when we get to the warehouse, you boys stay out of sight, I'll need you to go get Sammy and the others to safety, got it? No Rambo actions from either of you." John barked as they sped along the pitch-black road towards the abandoned building.

Plans had been hastily altered to include the "rescue" of the three boys and contingencies hastily formed for likely and not so likely outcomes.

"Bobby, Fenton, you two are with me. Three-man team should be sufficient providing everything doesn't go to hell too quickly. Dean and Caleb can join us when they get the boys to safety, out of harm's way." The eldest Winchester's authoritative tone made no room for arguments even if the others had issues with his plan. Not that they did though, John's military background and natural affinity for strategy meant that all present were comfortable with him being in command.

"Don't worry John, we'll get to the boys in time", Bobby assured.

John nodded silently, focused on driving, and the tense silence full of worry over the three boys resumed control over the vehicle and its occupants.

Frank waited, body thrumming with tension and anxiousness for his brother and friend. He hoped Joe didn't get caught, he had a feeling everyone would be needed to thwart these guys.

Suddenly, he heard a rustling in front of him. Grabbing a knife, he unconsciously tensed even further, preparing for a fight. The sight he was met with, however, caused him to sag with relief.

"Joe!" he whispered fiercely. "You scared the heck outta me man!"

Pausing next to his brother, Joe took a little time to gain composure before whispering "sorry" back.

"Did you find Sam?" Frank asked, as soon as he determined Joe was all right and not injured anywhere.

Joe nodded. "This freak has him tied up, Frank. There's no way we could get him loose on our own. Did you get onto the others?"

This time it was Frank's turn to nod. "We screwed this one up Joe"

"My thoughts exactly. Next time, when someone tells me to stay home, I will."

"I'm with you there bro. The others are coming. Got onto Dean, and man did he ever freak. Caleb came on after a minute though, told me they were headed here as soon as they could and to make sure I at least didn't get thought. I think he kinda figured you would be when I told him what you'd gone to do." Frank said with a slight smile.

Joe smiled back, relieved that help was, indeed, on the way. "He thought I'd get caught?"

Frank's hesitant smile turned into a grin, "Well, bro, with your past record, what did you expect?"

Joe shook his head. It's not like he _planned_ to get caught all the time, and anyway, it _wasn't_ all the time. Frank probably got caught as much as he did, too, but everyone always associated being tied to a chair somewhere with Joe.

"Come on, let's wait for the cavalry. I got some more info they could probably use."

Sam continued to stall, verbally sparring with "Loui" and trying to get as much information off him as possible. So far, it was working. Not only had he figured out this guy was some kind of demon-cult person, but he totally an egomaniac.

So much so Sam was reminded of all those cartoons he and Dean used to watch as kids, where when the evil maniac dude caught the hero, he'd blurt out every detail of the plan, so sure the hero wouldn't escape, but then he did, and because he knew everything, he always saved the day. Sam was just hoping it'd be that way this time, because he didn't favor the idea of being some kind of innocence sacrifice.

The car containing the five men who literally hummed with built-up tension pulled up alongside the road that, ultimately, led to the warehouse and piled out, dragging with them packs of ammo and other equipment needed.

Marching their way to where Frank had described he would be waiting, the men were practically silent, except for the occasional metallic clink of ammo being loaded and weaponry being checked over one last time.

Finally, the men reached the section of the copse of trees the boys were waiting in.

Dean stepped forward to the boys, running ahead before the others. "Frank! Joe! Did you see Sam? Are you guys all right? You hurt or anything?" he shot out the questions urgently, worry laid into his tone of voice with relief.

For a moment both Joe and Frank were silent, sharing a look that said "I thought he'd be mad at us?"

"Well?" Dean insisted, reaching them and checking them over.

"Relax a bit man, we're okay," Joe said, hands grabbing Dean's shoulder, stopping his assessment, "Couldn't get Sam out though. Dean, I'm so sorry we didn't listen to you guys," Joe said sincerely.

Dean waved off the apology. "I'll kill you guys and Sammy later, when we save Sam and finish the hunt and everyone's safe. For now, don't worry about it"

Caleb walked up next to Dean, John, Bobby and Fenton also approaching. They'd all paused to watch Dean with the boys, Fenton a tad apprehensively because he wasn't sure how Dean would react, but the others because they knew Dean's protective nature. Now they felt free to advance.

"Dean's right boys, now we need you guys to tell John, Bobby, your Dad and Dean and me everything you know, everything you saw. Don't leave anything out"

The next few minutes were filled with detailed questions from John and Bobby, knowing what to look for, as well as questions form Fenton, Dean and Caleb when they thought of them. Joe and Frank both did their best to answer as accurately and in as much detail as possible. Fenton had checked the boys over after Dean, just to make sure, but had mostly remained silent.

Pretty soon the three men had left, the Hardy boys remaining in the custody of Dean and Caleb. They waited for a few moments before heading back to the vehicle to wait for word from John and the others.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

"Okay" Caleb said as soon as they four of them reached the vehicle, "We can do this two ways, the easy way, where me and Dean here lock you up in the car tight, equipped with weapons to defend yourselves and you let us go back to John and the others or the hard way, where I knock you two out, drop you in the back trussed up like Thanksgiving turkeys and go back there anyway"

Frank and Joe turned identical stunned faces towards each other then turned back to Dean, ignoring Caleb for the time being.

"He's not serious is he?" Joe stuttered, the first to regain his voice.

Dean grinned lightly and shrugged as though helpless, "I dunno man, what do you think?" Turning serious, he said, "look, I know you guys want to help but trust me on this when I say you can't go back there, so either you stay here and wait for us to come back with Sammy or I'll leave you with Caleb, "cause as much as I'm glad you guys are fine, Sammy's still down there with that freak and-"

Caleb reached over to Dean, lightly grasping his arm in a grounding gesture, "Dean" he implored, eyeing his friend. Up til now Dean had been pretty calm considering (aside from that freak out after Frank's call, Caleb thought), but he wasn't going to stay that way much longer unless they got back to the job.

Dean stopped and looked at Caleb, his longest friend. Shoulders slumping, he nodded to his friend, eyes conveying his urgency, his need to get back to the hunt, to Sammy.

Satisfied Dean was calm once more, Caleb flicked back to the boys. "Guys?" he asked.

Frank stepped forward, "We'll stay here, Caleb. Thanks Dean." He added, Joe echoing the sentiment.

Dean grasped each boy's arm in a fierce brothers in arms grip before unpacking more weaponry and passing the arsenal over to the boys, making sure they knew what to do.

Grabbing more weaponry and stuffing it in a pack before turning to Caleb after seeing the boys safely in the car with strict instructions _not_ to come back out, with a grim "Lets do this" he turns from the vehicles, stepping back into the night and heading for the origin of all this trouble.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

"You message the boys?" Bobby asked Fenton in a moment of safe (well, as safe as it could be going into a half-demon's lair and sacrifice location) silence.

Fenton nodded. "Caleb replied. Said the boys had agreed to stay _locked_ in the car and that the two of them would be back as soon as possible, and give us the distraction we'll need."

Bobby nodded in the dim light, "I only hope Dean remembers to stick to the plan" he said grimly. He knew very well the boys" devotion to his younger brother and how much he would see this as a failure and want to redeem himself, save Sammy. Dean had the habit of getting reckless and completely ignoring his own safety when it came to others, especially Sam.

"I'm sure he will" Fenton said. He'd recognized Dean's fierce devotion to Sam but had also seen his level of professionalism. He had faith in the young man, and he'd been hoping the Same thing Laura had; that when this was over they'd stay whiles longer, or at least agree to visit. He'd grown fond of the boys, but particularly Dean, who was such a contrast of characteristics. He hoped they'd become friends eventually.

The men turned their attention back to the hunt, relying on the two younger men to be on time according to plan and successful. If their first plan didn't work, this hunt was just going to get a lot more difficult and a lot more dangerous.

At that moment a loud boom was heard from the other side of the warehouse where a small entrance that led to a lower level was located, followed by more rapid loud bangs. It was go time.

Slipping out of the darkened alcove the men had been hiding in; they smoothly crept up to the epicenter of their battle zone. The sight that met their eyes caused all three of their hearts to clinch. Sam.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

"Come on kid, let's blast this place to hell" Caleb called over the loud explosions they'd already caused. They'd managed to blow open the door (thanks to some awesome high-tech explosives Caleb "just happened" to have and had thrown mini explo-packs in after it as well as your generic smoke and stun grenades. They might not work to their full effect on these whatever-the-hell half humans but even if they gave them a little bit of an edge, it was worth it.

The fact that everything in their arsenal had been blessed and thoroughly doused in holy water didn't hurt either.

Dean grinned grimly and nodded as they rushed into the building.

Whoever these guys were, they'd made one hell of a mistake coming on to their radar and taking a member of their somewhat dysfunctional "family". And they sure as hell were gonna pay for it. Dean for one would make sure of that.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

"Sam" John breathed as he caught sight of his baby son, tied up and bloody, rage beginning to ignite the fire in his veins.

"Sammy"

Storming forward, John let loose a barrage of specially consecrated bullets; silver, holy and interspersed with witch hazel and a couple of other herbs. They were the reason they hadn't been able to move in immediately; the bullets needed to be tweaked slightly, even out of the varied stock they carried normally, nothing would do the job quite good enough for their satisfaction.

The fight was on, and this time, not one of the enemy would be allowed to leave. Alive, at least.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

As John stormed forward like a super soldier, the other two men burst in behind him, wasting no time in kicking down doors and breaking heads. In this hunt, there truly was no mercy, not for the bad guys.

John had made his way through several lackeys who'd appeared seemingly from nowhere, edging determinedly towards his youngest son when Loui stepped forward from behind, a sickening smirk upon his face.

"Hello John, old boy, long time no see, yes? I see Sammy here's all grown up, your other boy too, Dean? Feisty one that one I hear" Loui says with an evil gleam in his eye. "Don't imagine he'll be too feisty without little Sammy here, however, now, will he?"

John growls and steps forward but before he can do anything Loui has a knife held to Sam's throat, has pulled him up from where he'd been bound and was holding him flush against him, a human shield.

"Ah ah ah Johnny boy, mustn't get all touchy now, after all, I might get twitchy now, mightn't I?"

Just as John was wracking his brain for a way to divert Loui's "special attention" from his youngest son, an enormous explosion reverberated throughout the building, followed by a shouted "We're ba-ack" undoubtedly from Caleb and Dean, "_the bang brothers_", causing Loui to momentarily loosen his grip on the knife at Sam's throat, giving John the window of opportunity he'd been searching for a mere moment before.

Launching himself at the man-come-demon, John fired bullets successively at his target, never missing, furious in his fight to get to his boy.

Loui barely had time for a surprised look to pass his face before he was tumbling to the ground along with his comrades. The fight was vicious; Bobby and Fenton paired off back to back like a pair of cougars, Caleb and Dean wielding their firepower at the remnants of the "gang", fighting their way towards the rest of their newly formed team.

Though for the hunters the fight seemed to draw on forever, in fact it lasted only a few furious minutes and ended in an echoing barrage of bullets, grenades (a la Caleb) and other weaponry.

While the others finished the fight and looked out for survivors, John focused on Sam.

"Sammy boy? Son? You okay?" John repeated time and again as he checked his baby boy over. It was times like these John's mind faded back to when his sons were little tykes, barely on their feet. He may not have been an exemplary father, but it could never be questioned that he loved his sons fiercely.

""M fine, Dad" Sam mumbled, rising with the help of John's strong arms around his son after his dad had _finally_ stopped mother-henning him.

Dean finished off his last attacker just as Sam and his father started walking towards them.

"Sammy!" Dean yelled, rushing over to his brother. Dean dropped the last of his weapons to grasp Sam by the shoulders and start checking his lil" brother over.

"You okay dude? Damn I shoulda known you'd pull some-

"It's not your fault Dean" Sam interrupts,

"Damn straight it ain't my fault!" Dean exclaims, worry and relief and a myriad of other feelings overwhelming him, "What the HELL were you thinking? Taking a hunt you had _no_ information on by yourself with two rookies! Matter of fact what the hell were any of the three of you thinking? You coulda- hell, _anything_ coulda happened to you. You-

Caleb stepped forward and put a hand on Dean's heaving shoulders, "Dean, man, don't you reckon they know all this already? And we really should get outta here" Caleb pointed out. Though the bodies had conveniently "taken care" of themselves due to the special qualities of the arsenal (fighting "people" who had more that a foot in the demon realm had its benefits- they had less grip on earth's domain and when they were destroyed, so were their corpses).

Dean looked around at the blood-splattered floor and explosive-damaged building they were in before eyeing each member of their group in turn. Some were family, like Dad and Sam, even Bobby and Caleb were close enough, then there were the Hardy's……. whom he'd actually made a connection with.

Fenton chose the moment of silence to speak up, "Let's all go home. I expect Laura's busy running around the house worrying about everyone…… and there's pie" he added as an extra incentive. After all, Laura's pie was _to die for_.

They all gazed around at one another, the silence carrying on for a few more moments before all present burst into unadulterated laughter.

Slinging an arm each around both his sons, John Winchester, for the first time in a long time, truly relaxed. For now, there wasn't any monster waiting in the shadows, or any restless spirit to be put to rest. There was just his boys by his side, friends new and old and... well, pie...

THE ENDSequel: What Brothers Do II Coming Soon! 


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